Heaven's eyes
by xXPrincessMXx
Summary: Sora believes in true love, Kairi absolutely not... when they meet, what will happen? Maybe true love will be knocking on their door...  Sokai -No other couples- I guessed the second genre on humor, but you'll have to read it to see what I mean :D
1. Prologue

_Heaven's Eyes_

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
**__**Hey there! You have probably read this as an one-shot if you recognize this story. Yup, that's totally right, because it **_**was **_**an one-shot. I did get a lot comments about the length of the story, and I decided to split it into multiple chapters. Now, while reading through it, I discovered some mistakes, which I, naturally, changed into correct English.  
And, another thing: every perspective side of the story is one chapter. I also changed the end of the story a bit ;) So, enjoy and I hope you like the re-uploaded version :D**_

_****__**PROLOGUE**_

_Axel's point of view_

It's not always easy to look out for unexpected danger, like it's not always easy to resist believing. And on top of that, it's not always easy to believe in true love, especially when you're male. U-huh, so when it's raining, don't come outside.  
Trust me. Because suddenly, it seems all so easy… but didn't I tell you to watch out for unexpected danger? And I also told you that it's NOT easy. Sometimes.  
And it's not easy at all when your cousin appears to be the true love of your best friend.

**(Ah, well, yes, I do know it's short, but ever read the prologue of Jacob's part of Breaking Dawn? You didn't? Heh, well, my prologue is longer than that ;) Trust me.)**


	2. Two Sides Of Love

_Heaven's Eyes_

_**Chapter One:  
**__**Two Sides Of Love**_

_Sora's point of view_

"And why are we here again?" Roxas Strife, who is allowed to call himself my brother because he is, yawned and stretched himself out in my car. _Our_ car, but I drove most of the time.  
"Because _your_ best friend Axel told us to pick up his cousin" I stared through my window at the rain.  
Roxas groaned. "_Our_ _ex-_best friend" He stared at the rain as well. "If he was a best friend, he wouldn't make us wake up at six o'clock in the _freaking _morning!"  
We, the Strife-brothers, don't like it when you make us wake up before twelve o'clock in the afternoon. Keep that in mind. There's nothing we want to wake up for so early in the morning. To be precise, I don't like the morning at all, so that's why we sleep through the morning to wake in the afternoon. Makes sense.  
I rolled with my eyes. "Well, Axel doesn't have a car, so…"  
Roxas shook his head. "Oh, hush. I'm gonna check this guy out" He opened the door and jumped outside. "God, do you know _how_ hard it's raining?"  
I rolled with my eyes once more. "No way, it's raining?" I mumbled sarcastically. It was always raining.  
Roxas slammed the door shut and joined the shadows and left me with my spinning, depressive mind.  
And when I was alone, the only thing I didn't want to think about slipped into my mind again.  
I believe in true love. And you see, because I'm male, all the girls think it's _cute_ and won't take me seriously. Duh.  
But it's actually quite stupid to think about the fact that my true love is out there somewhere without me and maybe making out with some super-muscled guy. Yuck.  
I pressed my forehead against the dashboard. "Man…" I muttered. I'm probably the only seventeen years old who's thinking about these things. Probably? I'm _absolutely_ the only seventeen years old who's thinking about it.

I could see new shadows join the old ones, which meant Roxas and Axel's cousin were coming my way. I stared straight forward to the rain again and ignored the urge to sigh.

The back door opened and Roxas' voice drifted inside.  
"-and of course, he said I should hand it over to our precious Axel, which I would never, ever do. If I'm sane enough in any case" Ah. They were talking about Roxas' management over his band. I should've known.  
An absolutely wet Roxas crawled inside. "Hey Sora, this is Kairi, Kairi, this is my brother Sora"  
I heard the door shut and I turned around to greet my new passenger.  
Axel had a niece.  
And when I looked in the girl's eyes, my whole world broke. Every single piece of me, everything what made me who I was broke into a billion of pieces. It all drifted off like balloons, flowing away on the mild summer wind.  
But before I could crash to the floor, the girl caught me. It was like she was my gravity, it wasn't the usual gravity anymore what kept my both legs to the floor, it was her.  
It wasn't the sun my world was turning around. It was her.  
She was the centre of my universe. The most important thing to me ever. The only thing I would wake up for early in the morning.  
I wasn't connected with her like a rope of a balloon, but like an iron grip, keeping me strong and fierce enough to take care of her.  
Slowly, things came back. My love for my brother. My love for my family and friends. My loyalty toward everything I believed in.  
But she was the only _certain_ thing in my life.  
I quickly realized she was my true love. I found her. My only one. Kairi. 

_Kairi's point of view_

Great Axel. Just great. He invited me to come over at his place.  
He lived in Twilight Town, where it's always raining. I lived on the Destiny Islands, where it's always sunny.  
So I would've been stupid if I took his invitation.  
But Axel's still my favourite cousin – heh, he is my only cousin – so I decided to check things out.  
I could've wait for the summer, of course. But I knew myself. I came immediately.  
The train was dry and warm. I entertained myself with my iPod all the way. Music was my life.  
No, you read it correctly, music is my life. Music plus Axel plus my father plus my best friend Naminé is my life.  
Nope. No boys. No love.  
I don't believe in true love or love at first sight. It's ridiculous that there would be just one boy who is meant for you in this whole world. Do you know how big and gigantic this world is? You can guess once: you don't have one chance to find your true love.  
I once fell in love before. Riku. Sheesh, it wasn't all like butterflies, blushes and stuttering... I just liked him more than the rest. But since he was busier with his own body – his muscles and his hair – I decided to break up. Joy.  
And since then, nobody else. Actually, the only boys I ever liked were my father and Axel.  
Oh, I never thought boys were disgusting, but I never wanted something more from them either.  
Axel called me yesterday evening. He still doesn't have a car – u-huh, that means he's still as broke as three years ago – , so he sent his two best friends to pick me up. They were twins, he told me. Axel would want my opinion about his friends, I was sure about that. I wondered how they would be.

Soon, I stood in rainy Twilight Town, seeing nothing but rain, rain, rain, rain and shadows.  
I soon discovered I forgot my umbrella. Great Axel. Just great.  
"Hey!" A low, deep male voice interrupted my displeased mind.  
I turned to see there was a boy running at me. He was from my age and had blond hair. It looked like it was usually spiky, but the rain had washed it all over his face, so it dripped in his eyes. Which were light blue, like the rivers in the mountains.  
I found him attractive. Maybe interesting, but not love. No, no butterflies. No blushes and stuttering. Just attractive.  
"Hey" I responded automatically.  
He eyed me curiously before grinning. "Heh, noticing your haircolour, I bet you are Axel's cousin"  
Great Axel. Just great I have the same haircolour and same surname as you.  
I smiled at him. "Just the person I wanted to look like." He laughed and I extended my hand. "Kairi Hikari"  
He took my hand, still grinning. "Roxas Strife" So this was one of his best friends? Sure a nice one! Twins look like each other, they always told me, also in the mental direction, so I figured his brother would be just as nice. Good job, Axel.  
Roxas appeared to be in the same band as Axel. He was actually the manager since a friend of him couldn't do the job.  
"Sheesh, you must have a lot of stress if you are Axel's manager!" I said in sympathy. Axel usually didn't listen to anyone at all.  
He laughed. "Yeah, well, actually, the whole job is kind of... stressful. I don't think it's the correct job for someone like me, but hey, I wanted to do something for our band too"  
A car appeared in the shadows, with a shadow within. Dark glasses. Perhaps double glass.  
"I went to that friend and told him I didn't think I was able to do the job anymore. But he laughed it off and said he knew the perfect person for the job."  
He snorted and continued talking while opening the back door.  
"Since we have just three members, I knew who it would be, and of course, he said I should hand it over to our precious Axel, which I would never, ever do. If I'm sane enough in any case"  
Roxas crawled inside and I followed him. "Hey Sora, this is Kairi, Kairi, this is my brother Sora"  
I raised my gaze to introduce myself to Roxas' brother and froze in place when my eyes met his.

I forgot everything. Who I was, who I wanted to be, how I thought about things, why I thought I lived, for who I thought I lived... everything.  
In that precise moment, I lost my whole being. It tumbled to the floor, breaking in a million pieces. It left me breakable and fragile.  
But the next second, before I could fall along those pieces, the boy in the driver's seat broke through my shield and let me in his world, making me his to take.  
His world was my world. My world didn't exist anymore.  
This boy was the most important thing in my whole life. He was the first thing what would ring through my head, the first thing I would think about when I woke up.  
I lived for him. He was the gravity which hold me into place. He was the sun my world, his world, turned around.  
I never believed in true love, but I found it. Sora Strife. The only one who made sense for me.  
Slowly, as if I was not sure I wanted to take them back into my list of important things, other things came back. My father. Axel. Naminé. Music.  
They were all important, but not from the same calibre as the importance of the boy.  
The boy was oxygen. The boy was the only thing I wanted, needed, knew.  
My only one.

**(Author's note:**

**I'm sorry it's not going that hard with uploading, but well... yeah... don't blame me **** My homework wants to kill me. U-huh... so, only solution is to make it and see what happens ;) -)**


	3. After The Meeting

_Heaven's Eyes_

_**Chapter Two:  
**__**After The Meeting**_

_Sora's point of view_

I realized I was looking like an idiot, staring at her like I never saw a girl before.  
True, I never saw a girl like _her _before, but hey, I had to make a good first impression! That's the only thing that counts, I read in a magazine. If it was true, I had no idea... but who cares?  
I blinked twice and took a deep breath before I extended my hand to her.  
"Sora Strife"  
She blinked a couple of times and took my hand. "Kairi Hikari" Her hand was cool and sent shivers through my body, making me nearly yank her in the seat beside me instead of in the back.  
I was still lost in her deep blue eyes, but for the first time ever, I could look at _her_ instead of her eyes. She had a pale, small face and her dark red, nearly crimson hair curled at the end, which was over her shoulders. Her hair made her pale face even paler, but just in the... most beautiful way ever.  
She was slim, but fragile and soft. One finger on the wrong place and you would shatter her. She was the most beautiful person I ever met.  
Her full lips twitched at the edges and curled upward. "Nice to meet you" She said with a gentle, soft and twinkling voice.  
"Pleasure" I replied, still a bit dazed.  
I had no idea what to do next, but Roxas made it easy for me. He brought up their conversation from before. "Anyways, I will see how long it lasts. Maybe it will be easier later"  
Kairi still stared back at me, but when Roxas started to talk, her eyes shifted back to Roxas.  
I turned forward and took another deep breath before I started the car. No mistakes. I would kill us all if I didn't keep my attention on the road.  
"Who knows? Being a leader isn't the easiest thing in the world" Kairi replied to Roxas.  
There was a hint of amusement in her voice, which made me wonder what she really meant.  
Roxas didn't notice, but agreed with her. "You've got experience?"  
Kairi chuckled darkly. "You could say so"  
I had to concentrate on the road, but I really couldn't do it. Kairi was too interesting... and way too important. That's why I couldn't concentrate on the road, and why I couldn't put my full attention to Kairi either.  
"What do you mean?" Roxas asked her, interested. I don't think she's going to take your management over, pal.  
"I've worked with a lot of people, and really, some made me go so crazy... I nearly yanked out my hair..." She replied, her voice still gloomy and dark.  
Roxas laughed. "Heh, wonder what it looked like"  
Nothing pleasant. You must be a really dumbass if you would make Kairi yank her hair out.

Kairi chuckled. "Believe me, you don't want me that way... I almost killed some of those people. I scared away anybody who came too close"  
Roxas' grin widened, I saw it in my rear-view mirror. I rolled with my eyes. "Really Roxas, I know you can't believe someone is scarier than you, but just don't _enjoy _the fact people are scared of someone"  
Kairi laughed, making a grin grow on my face. "Enough about leadership. I'm going to be around my bossy, scary cousin, so let me enjoy my freedom for a while"

The smile remained on my face. However it felt wrong to have her in the back instead of beside me, it felt incredibly right to hear her laughter.  
"Axel can be nice... but I swear, I'm going to kill him for waking us so early in the morning because he doesn't have a car" Roxas said nonchalantly.  
Kairi's face remained calm, but her eyes changed. She looked a bit upset and bit on her lip while looking outside.  
I could kill Roxas.  
"But hey, we don't mind helping him, right Sora?" Roxas continued. Maybe he noticed the change in her eyes too.  
"Right" I mumbled, still eyeing Kairi.  
Suddendly something startled Kairi, and while she reached to her pocket to take her phone out, I realized she felt her phone trembling.  
"With me..?"  
Her eyes lit up and became tender and soft. Aw, man... I wished I was the person at the other end of the line.  
"No, I'm on my way... yeah... no, no, the train was okay... heh, dry, you know... what? Oh, no, they were nice... And, by the way, my father says hi... u – huh..."  
She rolled with her eyes. "Yes Axel, I hate you. I hate you for inviting me here, yup, I really do... no, come on! You are my favourite cousin, you know that, right?" Axel was the one calling her, I was hundred percent sure of it.  
She smiled when there came a indignant reply.  
"I know, I know... but... no... Naminé's fine... yeah..." She frowned. "Well, I don't know... err... I-... oh... I never knew that"  
Her eyes met mine in the rear-view mirror for a second, but she didn't look away anymore.  
"I see you soon" She said slowly, her eyes still looking at me.  
She hung up and chuckled once, looking away.  
"Axel?" Roxas asked immediately.  
Kairi nodded once. "Yup" Duh. Even I caught that.  
Roxas was clearly disappointed from the lack of information, so he asked another question. "What did he call for?"  
She shrugged. "The usual" When she saw Roxas' confusion, she smiled. "You know, the 'where are you?' question"  
Roxas smiled at her and she smiled back.  
Yeah, that would be absolutely something for me. I found my true love and the next moment, she falls in love with my brother. That worse than her making out with some super-muscled guy. Oh, my brother is muscled, sure... Gross... don't think any further.  
I sighed and tried to relax my tensed body. As soon as the sigh slid between my lips, Kairi's eyes flashed to mine in the rear-view mirror.  
I smiled, although a bit sadly, and tried to tear my eyes away.  
Kairi clenched her teeth together and looked outside, a frown darkened her eyes.  
She was way too interesting...

I drove into our street – Axel's house is in the same street – and stopped the car.  
"Do you know where Axel lives?" I asked her quietly.  
She looked at me again through the mirror. "I do" Mental face palm. Of course she knew. Maybe she had come here a thousand times while my family –including me, of course – were off in the holidays.  
Kairi took a deep breath and looked away and was obviously trying to open the door before I held her back. "Wait! You have an umbrella?" Worries... worries. She could get the flu if she went out with that jacket!  
Another smile with amusement. "I forgot it at home, so, no, actually"  
Roxas frowned. "Sora, we don't have one in the car either"  
Oh, that's right. Dad took it when he went to the mall. You better run to Axel's, Kairi.  
I glanced once more at Kairi, with a hint of desperation this time.  
"I'll see you around" I said, knowing my desperation dripped into my voice as well.  
Kairi turned immediately and shot me a glance with the same desperation. Or, maybe I pretended it.  
"I hope so" She whispered before jumping into the rain.  
Pain stabbed into my heart when I saw the rain pour heavily on her head.  
"Bye!" She said to both me and Roxas before she swung her bag over her shoulder and stuck her hands into her pockets. She started walking and I left the car too. Roxas was already at the door and I walked slowly toward the front door while locking the car and looking at Kairi at the same time.  
She was almost at Axel's.  
I fiddled with the keys on purpose. Roxas was grumbling, but I opened the door as soon as Axel opened the door to let Kairi in. Safe.

I sighed and went inside. 

_Kairi's point of view_

"Kairi!" Axel opened the door to see me, totally drowned with a gigantic bag.  
"Axel!" I threw myself in his arms and nestled my face against his chest. "I missed you!"  
He laughed. "I missed you too, got that memorized?"  
I felt tears on my cheeks and I hugged him tighter. "Got it"  
He dragged me inside and pushed me down on the couch. "Hey, are you crying? Did you miss me so much?"  
I laughed a bit. "It's the rain, silly" _and the fact I had to leave my true love in the rain, not knowing when I will see him again..._

The next morning, when I had settled myself down in his house (which means I dropped my stuff in his room and dropped my jacket on the floor) Axel made tea for us. It was three PM... and I had done nothing so far, except from staring at the rain and missing Sora Strife intensely.  
"So, what did you think of my best friends?" He asked nonchalantly. See? I told you he wanted my opinion.  
I laughed a bit, however my mind immediately turned back at the brown-haired boy.  
"The Strife-brothers were really nice, Axel. You've got yourself some good friends"  
Axel's face lit up and he smiled.  
"Thanks Kai"  
He placed a cup of tea before me. "There you go"  
"Thanks Axel"  
My hair was dry again, but my mind wasn't over the shock I had yesterday.  
"So, you really hate me for inviting you to this rainy town?" Axel joked.  
I snorted. "Yes, of course. No, of course not, you idiot"  
He laughed. "Well, actually, I really missed you and wanted to see you..."  
I rolled with my eyes. "You could've come to the Destiny Islands as well"  
Axel's expression turned serious. "Actually, I didn't want to leave... Sora alone"  
By saying his name, he got my full attention. "What's wrong with him?"  
Axel twiddled his thumbs. "Nothing special... he was a bit... down... the last few months"  
"What do you mean?" I had to know. I wanted to know. I needed to know.  
He sighed and looked down. "Sora was always a very cheerful person, always optimistic, happy and content with anything..." He looked away, to the rain pouring outside. That sounded more like Roxas, personally, but like I said, twins look like each other, right? That's probably right...  
But Sora was not that... enthusiastic yesterday. Maybe he didn't like me at all...  
"But suddendly he started struggling with himself. He changed into a silent, shy, sad version of himself"  
Silence.  
My mind wandered back to the moment he said something for the first time...  
-_flashback_-

_I stared at him, he stared at me. Intensity, burning intensity. We exchanged a burning passion and a burning intensity. Who was this boy? How could he make me feel this way? It didn't matter... he was everything... and nothing else mattered.  
He suddendly blinked twice and took a deep breath. He extended his hand to me. His eyes were... tender, soft, but uncertain too.  
"Sora Strife" His voice was low and deep, like his brother's, but was more serious and full of passion.  
I returned to the living world and blinked a couple of times before taking his hand. The warmth warmed me up immediately, making me melt on the spot. "Kairi Hikari"  
I looked at him in total now, not only his eyes. He had chocolate brown hair which spiked up to every direction possible. His dark blue eyes were set in pale face, however he wasn't as pale as me. He was just as skinny as his brother, but he was more muscular than his brother.  
I never saw such a handsome guy like him. And after meeting him, I would never look at a guy anymore. Never.  
The tender way he looked at me set me in fire and flames and I felt myself smile at him.  
"Nice to meet you" I said. It _was _nice to meet him.  
"Pleasure" He replied, sounding a bit absently. However he _sounded_ absently, his eyes were clear and attentive.  
Sora... I let myself drown in the seas in his eyes again.  
-end flashback-_

He hadn't looked real sad... but later, he looked indeed a bit gloomy. Worries, worries...

"What changed him?"  
Axel shot me a quick glance. "I have no idea. Nobody has. I wondered..."  
He shook his head. "Well, not to offend you, but since you're always so good in open people up, I hoped you could try to open Sora up... so I wondered if it would work..."  
I must have looked horrified, which I was, actually, because Axel quickly added: "But you don't have to if you don't want to... I was just wondering, nothing else"  
Opening Sora up? I didn't open people up. I was just being nice to everyone. How could that open someone up?  
"Axel..."  
"Never mind, really... it's just that I didn't want to leave Sora when he's so down"  
I nodded. "Yeah, I understand" I bit on my lip and looked down. "I'm sorry for disappointing you, but I can't open Sora up... I really can't"  
He started to splutter something about the fact he was just wondering, not expecting, but suddendly he stopped talking.  
I looked up, curious. He cocked his head to the side. I folded my arms and narrowed my eyes. "What are you doing?" Probably trying to look inside my soul...  
"Nothing, nothing" U-oh... he discovered something... but what?  
Something inside me told me Axel knew something I didn't tell him.  
And definitely didn't want to tell him. 


	4. As Things Start To Get Obvious

_Heaven's Eyes_

_**Chapter Three:  
**__**As Things Start To Get Obvious**_

_Axel's point of view_

Kairi nodded. "Yeah, I understand" The light in her eyes dimmed. She bit down on her lip and looked to the table. "I'm sorry for disappointing you, but I can't open Sora up... I really can't"  
"No, no, I'm not disappointed, hey, I was just wondering, not expecting stuff from you, so don't worry, I'm not-"

I frowned. I suddendly realized there was something wrong with the way she said Sora's name.  
Or, not something _wrong_... more... something _different._  
She said his name... with something I never heard in her voice before...  
It was like there were a whole bunch of feelings wrapped around his name...  
Tenderness, hope, desire, passion... love.  
Was she in _love _with Sora? She only knew him for God knows how long! In any case just a day!  
She suddendly looked up, curiosity burning in her eyes. I cocked my head to the side, eyeing her curiously. Maybe I could ask her to say his name again and listen for it again. But on the other side, if I asked her to say his name again, she would know what I was looking for... she would probably leave or never want to speak him again.  
She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. U-oh... she distrusted me. Oops.  
"What are you doing?" Suspicion sounded clear in her voice.  
"Nothing, nothing" I responded quickly. A bit too quickly...  
Her eyes narrowed even more and the suspicion grew.  
Then the bell rang, saving me from a bunch of questions. Sure, I loved Kairi, but she knew me better than anyone else. She would find out what I was hiding in no time.  
I jumped up and walked to the front door. I slowly opened it.  
Well, well, look what we've got here! The drowned Strife-brothers.  
Sora stood behind his brother, his eyes fixed on the street, his hands stuck in his pockets and a frown on his face.

Roxas, the opposite, nearly jumped inside when I opened the door. "Hey! I wanted to talk with you about the band and I succeeded in dragging Sora along!"  
Great Roxas. But I wanted to know how Kairi acted with Sora around and the other way around, the band could get killed in one minute and I wouldn't care. I mean, what _if _ there _was _something going on between Sora and Kairi?  
"Sure, come in"  
I stepped aside and let them in. Sora greeted me, but his voice and his eyes betrayed he was in deep thoughts instead of standing in front of me.  
Kairi was upstairs, trying to tidy things up a bit. Hopeless. This Hikari doesn't clean the house.  
But if she was upstairs... and Sora downstairs...  
Shit. There goes my experiment from today.

_Sora's point of view_  
The next day I felt like dying. I had dreamt the whole night about Kairi. Roxas took his jacket from the wall. "Aw, come on, Sora! I want to talk with Axel about the band!"  
I leaned back in the couch. "Great. Have fun" Kairi would be there, but I wasn't ready to face her with my uncertainty. I would see her when I had something to offer. Which was probably not going to happen in my whole life.  
All I wanted to do for now was to think about Kairi and the meaning of my life.  
Those two became inseparable the more I thought about it.  
"You come along"  
I shot him a glare and he tilted his head to the side. "Please?" He added quickly.  
A sigh worked its way up in my throat.  
"Sheesh, Roxas... you can go without me, really" Kairi wouldn't be looking forward to see me either way.  
Roxas rolled with his eyes. "No, I can't. You come along, and now"  
So I finally sighed and stood up. Fine then.  
I could always think about Kairi at Axel's. She would be there as well...  
Roxas threw me my jacket and I pulled it on. "Why do you want to go to Axel's now? I mean, it's still early... he's probably still sleeping"  
Roxas rolled with his eyes. Again. "He can't be, because Kairi is there, remember?"  
You ever thought I forget that?  
I just want something to offer her this time...  
"I knew that" I replied, my thoughts a thousand miles away.  
Roxas sighed. "I don't know what I have to do to bring you back to life again, bro... I really don't know..."  
He shook his head sadly and walked to the front door while taking out his keys.  
"You're in or not?"  
Kairi would be there... I was so stupid if I didn't come.  
"I'm in"  
Roxas' eyes lit up and he opened the front door, to reveal the rain.  
We both pulled up our hoods up and walked outside.  
I waited until Roxas had locked the front door before walking toward Axel's.  
Roxas walked in front of me, almost running to get inside a dry house.  
It didn't take us two minutes to go to Axel's and Roxas rang the bell.  
I sighed and stared at my feet. I never felt this way before. Kairi was not only my true love... she was my first one as well...  
I stuck my hands in my pockets and knew a frown was growing on my face.  
What was I supposed to say to her? Once, I would've known the answer. Once, we would've hooked up already... maybe.  
But it was like Roxas sucked all that optimism, enthusiasm and cheerful thinking out of me and poured his old character into me. Of course, he would never do that on purpose... but maybe it was a twin-thing.  
Was that normal with twins? I would ask Axel about it... he knew those kind of things... or he did like he knew... I didn't care. I wanted answers. Now.  
And I wanted Kairi. Now.  
Another sigh.  
Silence.  
The door slowly opened, but I didn't look up.  
"Hey! I wanted to talk with you about the band and I succeeded in dragging Sora along!"  
Brilliant Roxas. Now Axel knows I wasn't all worked up about visiting Axel. And it hurts Axel just as much as it hurt Roxas that I had changed so much. That I fell into my depression.  
"Sure, come in" Axel's low, cheerful voice said. But there was a hint of curiosity in his voice. What was he curious about?  
I looked up and saw that Axel stepped aside, his green eyes following my every move.  
His hair... the colour... it was the same as Kairi's... but Kairi's hair was curly, not spiky.  
I walked past him. "Hey Axel"  
He said nothing, but seemed to be irritated about something. What did I say?  
He led us to the living room while Roxas and I dropped our jackets in the hall. Usual business.  
I sat down in the couch and folded my hands behind my head.  
Roxas sat in the only chair, immediately talking about the management of the band. He was really worried about it...  
Axel sat down and listened to Roxas, but I could tell his mind was wandering somewhere else.  
My mind went alert when I heard a loud thud upstairs. Kairi wasn't downstairs... so...  
I had to do everything to keep myself calm and down on the couch.  
Someone, Kairi, came rushing down the stairs and slammed the door open. "AXEL!"  
Axel jumped up. "What's wrong?"  
Kairi was still as perfect as she was when I met her, but her eyes had a different twinkle in them. "You know you nearly _killed _me?" She said furiously. When Axel didn't react the way she wanted, she pointed upstairs. "All the _junk_ you threw in that closet..."  
Axel gasped. "No! It fell all out?"  
Kairi rolled with her eyes. "Yup. And I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. If I hadn't jumped out the room, I would've been buried alive!"  
Axel opened the door and ran upstairs. Kairi sighed and caught Roxas. "Hey Roxas!" Then her eyes went searching... and found mine.  
"Hey Sora" She said quietly.  
I could've said something cool, casual, or something... but nothing shot into my mind.  
"Hey Kairi"  
Kairi tilted her head to the side, her eyes at the ceiling. Listening.  
Axel cursed loudly upstairs and she smiled. "Heh. I told him he had to tidy up once"  
Roxas suddendly burst out into laughter, making both Kairi and me look into his direction.  
"What's gotten into you?" I asked him, trying to hide the smile which was creeping up. Roxas' laughter was infectious, it had always been.  
Kairi smiled too before she sat down next to me. She made it seem like it was just coincidence, but I had no idea if that was true. In any case, it felt great to have her beside me instead of in the back of my car.  
Roxas was still laughing. "This is just so... weird! Really, we know you for just a day, but you make it seem like we know each other for ages!"  
Kairi chuckled, but her eyes were wary. "You're Axel's best friends, so, why wouldn't I like you guys?"  
She liked me at least.  
It was like some part of who I was once came back.  
I laughed. "Maybe because being friends of Axel means we're just as crazy as he is"  
Axel had come back and his eyes joined the group of eyes staring in wonder at me.  
Kairi looked amazed, Axel deviously and Roxas shocked.  
"Err? What did I say?"  
Kairi bit on her lip, trying to hide her smile and stood up. "Tea anyone?"  
Axel chuckled. "I was already hoping you would take the 'I take care of you' role, but you didn't until now. _Finally_" He raised his hand. "But I would like a cup of tea indeed"  
Kairi shook her head with amusement and turned to Roxas and me. "You?"  
Roxas crinkled his nose. "I prefer coffee" He told her with a smile.  
I stared at him. "Since when?"  
He shrugged. "Like, five minutes ago?"  
I shook my head. "What do we do with you?" I muttered before turning to Kairi.  
"I'm going for the tea"  
She smiled while disappearing into the kitchen. I felt myself stare at her until she was out of my sight.  
"Dude..." Axel's voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up at him. He let himself fall down beside me on the couch.  
"Dude..." He repeated. I felt myself flush. "Err... what?"  
Roxas stared at me too. "Really... what's the reason for this sudden change?"  
Oh damn... it was _that _obvious...  
"For what sudden change?"  
Axel smiled deviously. "Heh, dude... I think you're in love with my cousin"  
I really blushed now. I felt the heat colouring my cheeks red... maybe just as red as Kairi's hair...  
"What-"  
Roxas laughed. "Sora, Sora... I'm disappointed! You really didn't figure out yourself?" Damn, damn, damn it! Even Roxas knew!  
Nonchalance, nonchalance...  
"Hell, I only know her for a day!" I whispered furiously, afraid she could hear it.  
They laughed. My cheeks warmed up even more.  
Are you ashamed of the fact you found the only one? No, not at all. Maybe it feels good to...  
"Enlighten us, Sora" Axel laughed.  
I took a deep breath and hugged my knees while resting my head on my arms.  
"I've always believed in true love, remember?" I started, already sounding like an idiot the very instance I began.  
"Err... yeah... everyone laughed at you when you said that for the first time" Roxas said, hesitating.  
I chuckled. "Heh, I would've done the same if I was them" I stared at the ground.  
Axel grinned. "Go on"  
I snorted. "Funny to hear my mental distress?"  
All three of us laughed. I had just repeated the sentence Axel told us when we laughed at his break-up with his first girlfriend. It wasn't funny, but his face was. He looked like someone told him he had to buy some dangerous kind of snake in the groceries.  
Axel shook his head. "No, really, go on"  
I looked up, not meeting their eyes, but looked at the door of the kitchen.  
"I actually found my true love yesterday"  
Silence.  
Heck. I should've known this was going to happen. 


	5. Chasing Your Mind

_Heaven's Eyes_

_**Chapter Four  
**__**Chasing Your Mind**_

_Kairi's Point Of View_

I rested my head in my arms on the kitchen table.  
There had to be an escape.  
There was always an escape.  
In my case, take the train home.  
But taking the train home meant I would never see _him_ again.  
And it would hurt Axel.  
I shouldn't be selfish. Axel was really worried. This wasn't going to be like it always was.  
I could tell Sora acted different. The way Roxas and Axel looked at him when he laughed...  
Remembering his laughter sent shivers through my body.  
I quickly shove that memory aside and tried to concentrate on what to do now.  
Did I want to stay? If I was honest, I knew I wanted to stay.  
I wanted to stay for Sora.  
I wanted to stay for Axel.  
So, I would stay. What about Sora?  
Maybe I could try to ignore him. Maybe I should give up on him. I mean, I didn't knew him for ages, so I could act like I didn't like him.  
I sighed and shook my head. I knew I couldn't do that.  
He was stunning, amazing, wonderful and interesting. I had never felt this way before...  
But was it selfish to run away from the things I didn't know? Or was it selfish to stay and make us both end up brokenhearted because I had no idea how to love?  
I sighed again.  
My heart ached to see him again, demanded I would see him this very instance.  
My mind and my heart were both fighting for control over my body. Great.  
They always say to follow your heart, right? What if I wasn't sure I could let my heart take control?  
I felt the pressure built up inside me. I was about to snap in two and one half would go home and the other half would stay here with Sora. Oh, and Axel, of course.  
Who was I kidding? Axel would understand it if I was leaving. The only reason why I wanted to stay was Sora. And I had no idea how he thought about me.  
Was I scared I would never see him again, his sudden appearance made it clear he and Roxas came here frequently. I wasn't sure I could keep my distance from him if he came here every day.  
I shook my head again.  
I couldn't snap in two. That was too... easy. Life wasn't easy.  
What did everyone say about true love? Easy. I should've known better.  
I couldn't just throw myself in his arms, screaming: "Oh my Gosh, you are my true love!" and expect him to hug me back, screaming: "Oh my Gosh, you're right!"?  
I mentally laughed about that situation. It would be so awkward. And embarrassing. And weird.  
Well, they said it was easy because it would be returned, no matter how.  
Sure. Sora hadn't opened up in years, I come along and suddendly he's back to how he was?  
Impossible.  
Even for true love.  
My mind was still mocking at 'true love' and 'love at first sight', and my heart was sure of it: Sora would feel the same way about me too, because he was my true love. I would be his.  
"Ugh. How can you believe in something while your mind says it's... stupid?"  
"Well, I would say you should chose for what you want to believe" His low voice replied.  
I raised my eyes slowly, and met his. _Sora_.  
Sora leaned against the door, arms folded and a worried expression on his face.  
My heart started to jump up and down and told me to jump in his arms, creating the awkward situation I came up with just a few minutes ago, but my mind told me to pick my bag, throw everything in it and run to the train.  
I didn't do any of them. I just froze and watched him sit down on the chair at the other end of the table.

"But since it sounded kind of vague, want to tell me the real question?" He asked me with a calm voice.  
The real question? Are you my true love? Do you love me the way I love you? Do you know what I should do?

Mental face palm. He would never answer one of those.  
Maybe I could use his answer instead.  
"But what if you can't chose for what you want to believe because the two sides are both just as strong as the other?"  
He thought for a moment, but his question came just as calm as the last one. "I suppose you're talking about mind and heart?"  
Thanks for figuring me out. I shot him a grateful glance. "I am"  
He nodded once and his reply came quickly. "Well, that makes it a bit harder to chose... but still... what do you want to believe? What's the better side?"  
Running away to the sun? I would always see the rain if I couldn't be with Sora. Stay in the rain? I would always see the sun in Sora's eyes.  
But it was so scary to give the control to my heart. My mind had done some great things too...  
I heard the water had boiled, but I didn't want this to be over. Who knows what would happen after we both left this room? Maybe there would never be a chance again to talk with him like this.  
Sora didn't do anything but looking at me, so I guess he maybe felt the same way about it.  
"I would say none of them... I mean... I would give so much to just... listen to my heart... but I can't explain how scary it is to just... let all of my control go to my heart... my mind has done good things as well..."  
Sora tilted his head to side and thought about it. Or, I think he thought about it. I had no idea what he was thinking about.  
"Err..." He started. "I can see what you mean... but which one is the one with the control over you now?"  
My mind wouldn't talk to him, but my heart would be kissing him now. I hadn't done either of them.  
"None of them..."  
He suddendly smiled. "Interesting"  
His eyes sparked with amusement and worry. So, at least he cared for me.  
And I suddendly got what he meant. If I wasn't listening to either my mind or my heart, I was listening to myself. Or, maybe my mind was extreme and this was just... my thoughts... me.  
"I could say... I'm the one who's taking control... for now" I looked down for a second, but returned my gaze to his eyes. "But what do I do?"  
His eyebrows furrowed together, but he never lost eye contact with me.  
"What do you want to do?"  
Stay with you. Forever.  
"Does this mean I have to tell you where I was thinking about?" I asked him, worried. I didn't want him to find out this way. I wanted him to know when I hadn't any doubts anymore.  
He smiled at me. "You don't have to if you don't want to"  
Every part of me, including my mind and heart, wanted to jump up, hug him, thank him and kiss him.  
I smiled back at him instead. 

_Sora's Point Of View_

Axel sat there, his grin growing. Roxas nearly died of shock. One of them was expecting me to say it, but for one of them was it the last thing they expected me to say.  
I couldn't stand the silence anymore and I broke it, wary. "So, uh... problems?"  
Axel suddendly burst into laughter. "Dude, you don't know her! She's not one of the easiest to deal with"  
Mental eye roll. Duh. I had found out that already.  
"I know"  
"Kairi? You're in love with Kairi?" Roxas spluttered in shock.  
Mental face palm. Yes, Roxas. I'm in love with Kairi.  
So, maybe it wasn't that obvious. Or Roxas was just too stupid to catch it. But since he's my brother, I would guess the first thing. _Happily_ chose the first thing.  
But... back to the subject of my obsession... where was Kairi? She was gone for pretty long now.  
Maybe I should check on her, to look if she was okay.  
My eyes darted back to the kitchen door and Axel chuckled. "Go on, go check on her. But I warn you, you're going to have a hard time, pal"  
Thanks for supporting me, Axel.  
I stood up and went to the kitchen. I opened the door quietly, hoping I didn't interrupt her.  
She sat at the kitchen table, her head buried in her arms.  
What happened?  
She sighed once. I gently closed the door, so she wouldn't notice.  
I folded my arms and waited for her to do something, or to say something.  
There was something wrong with her, and I wouldn't leave the house before I knew what it was.  
After a few minutes, she suddendly shook her head, making it clear she was in deep thoughts. Maybe lost in them.

After another couple of minutes, Kairi suddendly spoke. "Ugh. How can you believe in something while your mind says it's... stupid?"  
Before I could stop myself, I replied already. Maybe because I had thought about this a lot before she came, throwing me off guard and dazzling me.  
"Well, I would say you should chose for what you want to believe"  
Kairi's eyes slowly raised and met mine.  
How come she didn't even looked shocked? Like she expected me or something?  
Well, she suddendly looked torn, but then her expression went back to... blank.  
It seemed like she had frozen, but her eyes followed me to the table and watched me sit down at the other end of the table.  
"But since it sounded kind of vague, want to tell me the real question?" I went on. It _had_ been a bit vague, and if there was any way to help her, I would take that chance with both hands.  
She frowned, obviously thinking about what to say.  
Suddendly her eyes lit up. "But what if you can't chose for what you want to believe because the two sides are both just as strong as the other?"  
Hmm... well, there were a lot of 'two sides'. Did she mean something like mind and heart?  
"I suppose you're talking about mind and heart?"  
Dude, you sound cliché. Maybe you are.  
A grateful spark came in her eyes. "I am"  
Oh, so maybe I'm not that cliché as I thought I was. Good.  
I nodded once, to make sure she understood that I understood. Uh... weird sentence. Never mind.  
"Well, that makes it harder to chose... but still... what do you want to believe? What's the better side?"  
She thought about it. The silence wasn't awkward, depressing or angry. It was calm, peaceful and comfortable. Trust.  
The water had boiled, but she didn't move. I still looked in Kairi's eyes. Something told me this would maybe be the only time she would talk about her feelings, so I was making good profit of it. To think about it later. I would cherish this moment forever. And, besides, Axel was damn right. Kairi wasn't the easiest one to deal with. This could maybe help me later.  
Maybe I would find out something about her character these moments too!  
Kairi's lips finally parted. "I would say none of them... I mean... I would give so much to just... listen to my heart..." Another frown darkened her eyes. "But I can't explain how scary it is to just... let all of my control go to my heart... my mind has done good things as well..."  
Hmm... interesting. So she was someone who followed her mind. No wonder it is scary to switch to your heart. But if neither her mind or her heart was controlling her every move now... who was?  
"Err..." I began. "I can see what you mean..." I can. I never had those problems, but I can imagine what it's like. "But which one is the one with the control over you now?"  
She blinked a couple of times when she realized something. "None of them..." She whispered surprised.  
I smiled at this. I had gone through this a lot earlier and I knew it was not something pleasant to be going through.  
"Interesting" Everything about her was interesting.  
Her surprised face was kind of amusing, but I wondered if she would go exactly through the same as me... long ago. I sure hope not.  
Suddendly there was understanding in her eyes.  
"I could say... I'm the one who's taking control..." She waited a second. "For now" She looked down, but returned back to my eyes. "But what do I do?"  
I had to admit I hoped she wouldn't ask me that.  
Because my only advice was to leave yourself and find a way to get out. Which would mean in her situation she would leave me. I was selfish enough to not want that. I didn't want that at all.  
"What do you want to do?"  
Her eyes unfocussed and she got a dreamy expression. But suddendly she seemed to snap out of it and worry came in her eyes. "Does this mean I have to tell you where I was thinking about?"  
I would like that, yes. But I couldn't stand that worry in her eyes. She was clearly worried her things would do something to me... or us.  
So she cared for me... at least.  
I smiled at her. "You don't have to if you don't want to"  
Surprise was clear again on her face for a second. And then her eyes lit up, and she smiled back at me.  
We waited a few moments before Kairi moved. She stood up and started to make tea... and Roxas' coffee.  
Yesterday, I had no idea of what to say. Today, I decided I wanted to know more about Kairi.  
Too bad I wasn't the only one who decided to find out some information.  
"So, how long do you and Roxas live here?" Kairi asked nonchalantly.  
Long. As long as I can remember.  
"As long as we live"  
Kairi's eyes were fixed on her hands, still preparing tea and... Roxas' coffee.  
"Were you guys always like this?"  
With Axel or without?  
"With Axel joining us or without him?"  
She smiled and her eyes searched for mine. "Both"  
"Well, Roxas was usual the... err... quiet one and I the spontaneous, hyperactive one, but things changed a couple of months ago"  
Her eyes quickly returned to the tea... and the coffee, but I had seen pain in her eyes already.  
I frowned and tried to understand what caused the pain in her eyes. I hadn't said something offending, right?  
"But, we were always pretty close, even for twins" I quickly added, in the font hope it made the pain go away.  
Whatever caused the pain.  
She was silent, and I realized she waited for the rest.  
"Oh, and when we were seven, Axel moved to our street, and we were... well, immediately best friends"  
She suddendly folded her arms and frowned.  
She was fascinating... but I couldn't understand her at all.  
"Did I offend you?" I asked in confusion.  
She shook her head and looked at me again and gave me a sad smile.  
"Axel moved from my street"  
Oh. So her cousin lived in her street? She must have been pretty close to him, mental as physical.  
But she didn't went on about it.  
"So you guys have always been like this? Except for the fact Roxas and you changed?"  
That same pain in her eyes again. But this time, it made sense. Of course. Axel had talked about it. And since he was worried, she was it too.  
"Yeah, that's pretty much all about it"  
She nodded once, and I took the opportunity to ask _her _something instead of the other way around.  
"Where do _you_ live? Axel always said his cousin lived on some kind of island"  
She laughed. "Heh, he's pretty vague, ain't he?"  
Kairi looked at the window again. "I live on the Destiny Islands"  
No way. Not _the _Destiny Islands! Not the place where everyone wanted to be. Not the place where everyone went if they got vacation. Not the place everyone dreamed of.  
Not the place where the sun always shines. Couldn't be. She was even paler than me!  
But more important: not the place _I_ always went on vacation. Not the place _I_ always dreamed off.  
My jaw had dropped and I quickly shut it. "Whoa"  
She laughed. "I know"  
Suddendly she showed me a side of her I never saw before. Her eyes stood dreamily again, absently. A soft, tender loving smile made her face lit up. I could stare at her for hours if she would keep this emotion so clear on her face. Every piece of sunlight made her look different. Like the sunlight wanted her just as badly as me.  
But as suddendly as she drifted off, she snapped out of it just as suddendly.  
She sighed and her face turned sad. "Well, I guess I always thought it was… heaven"  
Kairi spoke the word with her voice uncertain. Like she wasn't sure of the definition. Anymore.  
"But when Axel's father died… my uncle… and his mother moved with Axel… it kind of… broke my world"

The tea and Roxas' coffee was ready. Kairi seemed to hesitate about something.  
"Err… when I come back here… you're still here?" She asked me, a hint of desperation in her voice.  
I nodded. "Sure"  
She seemed relieved and she put my cup of tea in front of me, hers at the other end of the table and took Roxas' coffee and Axel's tea with her.  
While waiting for her return, I decided to stop asking her direct questions. I could learn so much more from her reactions.  
But something forced me to think about something she had said. She lived on the Destiny Islands.  
Those islands weren't so big… how could it be that I never saw her before?  
Maybe because she was here when I was there?  
It just sucks that we never met until now.  
The door slammed open and Kairi walked in, her cheeks heated up with embarrassment and her eyes easy to read. Hurt.  
She shut the door, obviously trying to be gentle this time, took a deep breath and sat down on her chair from before, a frown on her face while she looked down at the cup of tea she clutched between her hands. The blush slowly faded, leaving her expression dark.  
"Something wrong?"  
Kairi looked up at me and shook her head. "No, nothing's wrong"  
I could learn something from her reactions. I did.  
I found out that Kairi didn't like to show weakness.  
But she hated it when she found herself being weaker than earlier.  
However I couldn't call it weakness, it was more like she appeared to be fragile from time to time. She hated that. I guess she preferred suffering in silence, not wanting others to notice she was suffering.  
I would never think she was weak anyway. The way she was, shining her light in every life she came across took my breath away.  
That's when I made my first promise… to myself. I would never, ever let something make Kairi sad again.  
I folded my arms and pretended to glare at her. "O really?"  
She stared at me, disbelief clear in her eyes. Suddendly she burst into laughter. Her laughter was infectious to me. I had to smile back at her.  
When she looked up at me again, there was a light in her eyes I would never allow to go out. She still smiled at me. "You know, there is only one sentence in the whole world to reply on your behavior. I learned it from Axel, so don't blame me" She laughed again. "Dude, you need serious help"  
We both laughed at that. Sure, I could hear Axel say it, but it was funnier to hear Kairi say it.  
"I'm going to take serious help if you tell me what was wrong" I said, a small smile left on my face.  
"That's blackmailing, you know that" She pointed out, but she still had a smile on her face.  
"Are you avoiding my question?" She was. I knew it.  
She looked down at her cup of tea again, the heat returning to her face. "Axel thought it was time to embarrass me again. With something I really don't want him to embarrass me about. He doesn't know where he's talking about either way" The last sentence was meant for herself, but I caught it anyway. It hurt me when I realized it was an attempt to cheer herself up.  
"Can you imagine what a hell my life is with him as best friend" I teased her a bit, trying to light the situation up a bit.  
She chuckled. "I feel no sympathy for you, though, sorry" She teased me back.  
I put my hand on my chest. "Ouch, that hurts" I said sarcastically.  
She laughed again. "Fine. I _do_ feel sympathy for you. But I'm not sure you should be happy with that since I'm your hell's cousin"  
I laughed too. "Well, in that case, I'm leaving this instance"  
If I could.  
But one look on my watch told me I _had_ to leave. Roxas would probably be waiting for me to go home, since he wanted to rehearse for his band tomorrow.  
One thing I could do was to tear my heart away from my body. Yuck, that would be gross, blood everywhere… nah. Instead, I locked up every emotion I held and said: "Well, I'm afraid I really have to leave… so I guess I'll see you around… Kairi"  
I stood up and prepared to turn and walked away. But Kairi made a strange, small sound and I kept my eyes on her, following her every move. I wanted to know if it hurt her just as much as it hurt me to leave. If it hurt, I would stay. Since I promised to never let something make her sad again. Her eyes went wide and their expression changed to something I read once. About the survivor-modus. The mode your mind when on when you were in a life-threatening situation. However there was nothing 'life-threatening' about me leaving her for a while, that was the exact look in her eyes.  
She jumped up and ran over to me, hugging me for dear life and unlocking every emotion I had locked up.  
Like I said, I could learn the most of her reactions. 


	6. Explosion Of Heart

_Heaven's Eyes_

_**Chapter Five  
**__**Explosion Of Heart**_

_Axel's Point Of View_

I always believed Sora whenever he would tell us about his 'true love exists' theory.  
But things changed a bit when his 'true love' appeared to be _my_ cousin. Instead of Kairi, I had more cousins, naturally. But, she was my _favorite_ cousin. She would always be.  
She was like my little sister and I was like her big brother. That would never change.  
Thus, handing her over to Sora, however he is my best friend, is not a very appealing idea.  
One side of me wanted to beat him up and throw him out of the house, but the bigger side of me felt sympathy for him. Because he forgets one thing…  
Kairi's not easy at all.  
Kairi may be sweet to everyone she meets, being the angel people could rely on, but it was too tough for her to show her real feelings, so she usually never did. You had to fight hard to get into her heart.  
Kairi once said to me: 'Axel, there are actually four things important in my life. You. My father. Naminé. Music. You because you are my big brother. My father because he's my father. Naminé because she is always there to break my fall. Music because that's the only way to express myself"  
Poor Sora would have a hard time trying to fight his way into her heart, because he wasn't her father, he wasn't her big brother – me, of course -, he wasn't her childhood friend and he definitely wasn't a way to express herself. So… this would mean lots of trouble for my best friend.  
I made promise to myself. I would stop Sora's fighting, to prevent Sora to get hurt and to prevent Kairi would be taken away – what would never happen, but what _if_?-. That would be hard. Sora didn't give up very easily. But neither did I.  
But _if_ he loved her, if he _truly _loved her, he would respect her decisions, right?  
I realized all of this in one quick second, the same second when Sora told it.  
And, somehow, I had expected it. Kairi had been too curious about Sora. The way she said his name. The way her eyes were shimmering.  
So if she could impress him, he would've impressed her too, for sure.  
I knew I was grinning. It amused me more than it should be to see Sora's blush grow and grow.  
Roxas hadn't see it coming. His jaw was dropped, his eyes wide with shock. I hoped I didn't have to call the doctor to save Roxas from dying of shock.  
Sora was wary, I could tell. His voice didn't tremble, sounded nonchalant, but his eyes were uncertain and incredibly wary. "So, uh… problems?"  
I was right about one thing. Sora had chosen his fate. He was going to fight for her. However it sounded like he asked our permission, he was going to do nothing with it. He would only listen to her now.  
But it was quite hilarious that he had no idea who Kairi was. He would find out soon.  
I burst into laughter after that thought. "Dude, you don't even know her!" Secret warning. Big brother is coming in action as soon as you hurt her. "She's not one of the easiest to deal with"  
I could see Sora control himself so he could stop himself from rolling with his eyes.  
"I know" His voice was determined. I doubted that.  
Roxas let us know he was alive too. "_Kairi_? You're in love with _Kairi_?" Roxas spluttered in total shock.  
Sora's blush grew and I think he was just as red as Kairi's hair.  
He stared past us, obviously trying not to see us in an attempt to let his blush fade.  
But suddendly his eyes darted back to the kitchen and I chuckled.  
He wanted her. There was nothing I could do against it, so I would give Kairi her chance to block him out. Maybe if she showed him she didn't want him back, things would go back to where they belonged…?  
"Go on, go check on her. But I warn you, you're going to have a hard time, pal" Secret warning two.  
Sora took a deep breath and stood up, trying to control his every step. He was nearly running. Poor guy. I never saw Sora in love like this. Sure, we teased him often about a girl passing by, watching Sora blush and grumble he didn't care for the girl. But seeing him in love for real, was a shock.  
He slowed down before the door and opened the door slowly, quietly.  
The door closed just as slowly and quietly.  
Silence.  
Roxas suddendly spluttered. "H-how? I… W-when? W-why?"  
I laughed. "Dude, there's nothing you can do about it"  
Roxas blinked a couple of times and suddendly smiled. "Oh boy…" He looked at me. "You think she's going to turn Sora back to normal?"  
I grimaced. "I was hoping for that, but… Kairi thinks she's not able to do that" Okay, okay, I _was_ hoping for Kairi to turn Sora back to normal… but this wasn't the state I really wanted him in… I wanted him back, not in _love _with her! Well, anyhow, Kairi blocked everyone out who came too close… she would manage this time as well.  
Roxas frowned. "Okay, where the hell are you talking about?"  
I repeated our conversation from this morning.  
Roxas suddendly burst into laughter. "Dude, they are so freaking in love with each other that they have no idea how hilarious it is!" Oops. Please Kai… don't. Get. Involved. With. This.  
I sighed. "Maybe. But I don't think Kairi is going to give in to her feelings soon" And I don't want her to be in love. I want her to be my little sister… not my full-grown cousin who's marrying my best friend!  
Roxas frowned. "Why not?"  
You don't know her. You have no idea how fragile, how sweet my little niece is.  
She's so weak somewhere… however she will never admit it. So strong… but so breakable.  
I often wished I was strong enough to protect her from any damage, from any danger, from any pain. I had never been strong enough. I wasn't strong enough. I could only hope Sora was strong enough. I could only hope he was strong enough to be there for her in her breakdowns… she had them way too often, in my opinion.  
"Kairi follows her mind. Always, everywhere"  
He sighed. "Ah, well, maybe Sora can talk some difference into her. He follows his mind as well"  
Silence fell over us. We were both thinking about our best friend and Roxas' brother.  
The one side of me which was against Sora fell apart. There was no way you could be against Sora. He was way too kind. Plus I have known him for too long to be really mad at him.  
I wondered if even Kairi ever stood a chance against Sora.  
Kairi didn't live for herself. She lived for others. She took care of her father, who was drown in his pain for my dead father, his brother. He had broken contact with the whole family, even with my mother. Only I was allowed in the house of my uncle. And only because of Kairi. Their bond was so strong that it seemed unthinkable that anyone could come in between.  
Kairi had grown up too soon. When she could be a child, people expected her to be a grown-up. An adult. Kairi did always what others expected her to do, to say… to be.  
It hurt. It hurt whenever you saw the eight years old taking care of her broken father.  
When my mother died a year later because of her broken heart, the town's major adopted me.  
Kairi and I grew closer than ever those years.  
And then, when I was back on the Destiny Islands for a while, Kairi had made a friend. She needed eleven years to show the girl, Naminé, that she liked her.  
But no one else could get close enough to Kairi's heart to be as precious as her father, me and Naminé.  
Was Sora able to break through that shield?  
Suddendly the kitchen door opened and Kairi came out, a cup of tea in one of her hands, coffee in her other.  
The door closed automatically behind her and Kairi raised her eyes to look at us.  
Happiness.  
Her deep blue eyes sparkling with hope and happiness.  
I wanted to hit my head against the wall. Of course. I should've stopped Sora when I could. Without Sora here and with Kairi so obviously happy… I was jealous I never succeeded in making her this way.  
"There you go" She said when she handed the coffee to Roxas, who was eyeing her curiously.  
She turned to give me my tea. "And here you go"  
I was actually quite mad at her. She could block people from her heart, right? Now why couldn't she do that to Sora?  
"So, you guys are gone for a while… playing strip poker or something?" I said, trying to act nonchalantly, but somehow trying to get my revenge.  
Roxas burst into laughter, spluttering something about how he could _so _imagine that.  
But I felt nothing but regret the next moment. Kairi knew I was mad at her. And she knew exactly why. She backed off and her blue eyes, now completely startled and sad were focussed on the floor.  
Warmth seemed to radiate off her when her cheeks warmed up. The blush was nearly as red as her hair.  
Roxas couldn't stop laughing and he spilled coffee over my chair.  
"You know, you're going to pay for that, bro" I said, trying to get the attention off Kairi, however it was my fault it landed on her.  
Roxas suddendly raised his brow. "Hey, you hate this chair, so there's no way I'm going to pay for it"  
But I looked at Kairi again, mouthing 'sorry'. She suddendly snapped out of the haze of hurt I had pushed her into. She huffed and turned around.  
She slammed the kitchen door open, but the door shut gently behind her.  
I felt fear rising when I wondered who shut the door.  
Having your best friend in love with the one you love like a sister isn't easy at all.  
And the worst part?  
I hurt her in a time she needed me the most. 

_Kairi's Point Of View_

It had been three days since me and Sora talked…  
Stupid Kairi. Stupid Kairi. Stupid Kairi.  
It was night and I sat on the bed in the guestroom.  
_Stupid_ Kairi. _Stupid_ Kairi. _Stupid_ Kairi.  
I scolded at myself for being so _stupid_.  
First of all, I had hurt Axel, so he hurt me in return too. Naturally.  
Second, Roxas knew the same thing as Axel knew when I had returned into the room that day.  
Third and worst of all, I had hugged Sora. Out of nowhere.  
Fourth, Axel and Roxas decided to check on us when I had hugged him.  
Fifth, they burst into laughter.  
Tears of embarrassment and confusion made rivers on my cheeks.  
It was not fair!  
But then it got me totally. Sora wasn't with me to calm me down and more tears blurred my sight.  
So I needed to calm myself down.  
"Let's set things straight and _right_, you get me?"  
I sat up and took a deep breath.  
"Okay. First. I hurt Axel"  
I couldn't stop but scolding at myself again, my voice rising. "You unreliable bitch! Do you know HOW wrong that is? Remember what dad said? Never hurt Axel, he's all what's left if everything else falls away… I just fucked it up… " I couldn't say more and sobbed further.  
"Okay, so it's all right he hurt me in return… " I decided when I could talk again.  
"Second. Axel knows something. Roxas knows it too now" I closed my eyes, more tears came.  
"So… Sora is going to know it too… and very soon… maybe he already knows"  
I sighed. "Well, there's nothing I can do about that"  
I took a deep breath. "Third… the most horrible thing ever… I hugged Sora"  
The deep breath came out in a sharp one. "And now he doesn't want to talk to me again…"  
A sob slid through my clenched teeth. There were two words I had to say to myself… the two worst ones I knew. "Slutty whore"  
More tears came, but I couldn't say anything, couldn't see anything. Everything was a blur, with a dark shadow with spikes running closer. Sora? My heart jumped up, but the person who hugged me wasn't Sora. It was Axel. Stupid Kairi. Axel has spikes too.  
"Kairi, Kairi… shhh, shhh… it's all right now" He murmured in my ear.  
You weak slut. You weak whore.  
I sobbed further on his shoulder while his hands rubbed over my back, in an attempt to calm me down. "Hey, it's fine now, I'm with you… shhh, shhh, Kairi, shhh, it's all okay"  
I shook my head. "No, it's not okay! I'm the most terrible person on earth!"  
Axel crushed me tighter to him. "Why? Because you hugged Sora three days ago?"  
I threw my arms around his neck and sobbed harder. "That's just part of it"  
"Then tell me, what did you do to make you the most terrible person on earth? The earth is big, you know"  
I wasn't in the mood for jokes. I managed to sob harder. "I hurt you and I embarrassed Sora in front of his best friend and brother! I left my father while he needed me! I'm supposed to take care of him and I just let him alone! I'm horrible"  
"You're not horrible! Never! Shhh… shhh…"  
The familiar scent of a warm fire in the middle of the winter and the soft whispered words calmed me down a bit and I fell asleep on his shoulder.

_Sora's Point Of View_

I couldn't sleep anymore. Mostly because it had been three days since Kairi hugged me.  
When Kairi hugged me, I was so completely stunned, dazed… intoxicated that I couldn't react.  
Stupid me.  
Worst of all, Roxas and Axel came in to check on us and Roxas to pick me up because we were going home.  
They burst into laughter, and of course, I didn't care, but Kairi cared.  
She let me go and the survivor-modus went out, leaving her fragile and breakable.  
I felt the urge to wrap my arms around her and protect her, but I didn't want to embarrass her more than she already was.  
Because she was. She backed off, her cheeks the same red as her hair.  
She muttered 'Sorry' and looked at me, pleading.  
I just smiled at her before Roxas started to splutter: "I _knew _strip poker would fit them!"  
Okay, that's were I became just as red as Kairi and they started to laugh harder.  
Kairi had pressed herself against the wall and looked down, making it impossible to read her eyes. I didn't had to. I could tell she felt horrible, which made me feel horrible as well.  
Axel suddendly choked in his laughter and managed to splutter out: "I'm sorry Kairi… I couldn't help it"  
Kairi shook her head and slipped past me, between the two guys in the doorway and threw the front door open and stepped in the rain while she let the door close.  
Gone. Slipped through my fingers. I hadn't seen her since then.  
I sighed and turned in my bed. Roxas and I shared the same room, and he was obviously annoyed with me because I kept him from falling asleep too. Three days long. "Sora, _please _stop turning and sighing!" He hissed angrily while burying his face in his pillow.  
His mobile rang, but Roxas growled and dived deeper into his blankets.  
Since I couldn't sleep, I decided to stand up and answer the phone. Because it was Roxas' phone, I put it on the speaker, so Roxas could hear who it was too. Not that he would listen. However the person called _him_.  
"Roxas? Axel here! Dude, _SERIOUS _problems! You must help me!"  
Roxas groaned into his pillow but didn't react much more.  
His voice sounded desperate and strangled a bit, like someone was clinging onto him for dear life.  
"Err… Sora here. But I think I can help you too?"  
Silence. "You know what? I don't care. Just get Roxas up and let him HELP ME for Christ's sake!"  
There was only one reason for Axel's behavior now and it felt like I froze up when I realized what that one reason was. Or, _who _that one reason was.  
Kairi.  
"H-Hang on, I'll be right there!" I shouted at the phone and I got dressed, tripped over Roxas' mess and ran downstairs. I heard Roxas getting up too, but I didn't care.  
All I cared about now was Kairi.  
And there was something serious wrong with her.  
I ran all the way to Axel's and nearly threw myself at the door.  
Roxas ran after me, panting. "S-Sora! W-Wait up!"  
My fist made contact with the door and I became more restless and anxious the more I had to wait.  
Axel opened the door, his eyes wide with worry and his lips one thin, hard line.  
"Thank God! I nearly had to break her hands to make her let me go to answer the door!"  
He sounded panicked and I became panicked when he said that sentence.  
"You did _WHAT_?" I spluttered out.  
Roxas pushed me aside and jumped inside, and I jumped after him.  
Axel held me back to look at me. "Sora… err… I think it's better if _you_ stay at home"  
I growled. "And let me break down the house because I'm worried as hell?"  
Axel winced and he threw up his hands in the air in defeat. "FINE! I don't care! All I want is that she-"  
He froze up before he suddendly ran upstairs again.  
I ran after him, Roxas on my heels.  
One second, I wished I had fallen asleep and that I never heard the phone rang. One second, I wished I hadn't come.  
Kairi.  
She seemed paler than ever before and her eyes were red and puffy, yet there were tears everywhere. Her whole face expressed pain.  
She had suffered too long in silence.  
She had broken.  
Axel sat down beside her, wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "She fell asleep, but then she started crying too in her sleep and then she woke up, crying harder than ever before! I dunno what happened, but she seemed to be punishing herself… and she succeeded a bit too much… I think she's hysterical now…"  
Kairi's arms wounded around his neck and she shook from head to toe. Sobs came out frequently and her breathing came uneven and hitched from time to time.  
But the next second, I was glad I had come.  
While Roxas stood frozen in the doorway, I came closer. I knew what to do, however I wasn't sure it would work.  
"Axel"  
He looked up, still trying to calm Kairi down.  
I sat down beside him and stretched my hands out to him. "Give her to me"  
He looked torn, and he looked down at the girl in his arms.  
"You don't give me much of a choice, Kai" He muttered as he pried Kairi off him.  
Before she could fall on the floor, I caught her.  
My hands wrapped tightly around her and I lifted her up to settle us both down on her bed.  
She sat between my legs, her arms tightly around my neck and her face pressed into my shoulder.  
Axel yawned, but tried to hide it. "Axel, why don't you go to bed, and take Roxas with you before he dies" I said to him. "I think two shocks in one week are too much for him"  
Axel looked at Roxas and chuckled a high pitched, worried, nervous and panicked chuckle.  
He then dragged Roxas away at his collar. "Dude, you're sleeping on the couch"  
Roxas didn't say anything, just blinked as tried to struggle against Axel's grip.  
Silence fell over us. The only thing I heard were Kairi's sobs, her unsteady breathing and my steady one.  
My hand lift automatically and stroke her cheek. I didn't try to hush her, or to get her silent, I just let her cry. If I was going to hush her, this would all get stuck inside and come out later.  
I rested my cheek on her head. "You know, I think Roxas is going to die of shock one of these days. He keeps proving you're amazing, but in a weird kind of way"  
She listened to me at least. She shook her head and tried to gather her breath to say something, but I let my index finger rest on her lips. "S'okay… you don't have to say anything"  
Another wave of pain crashed over her, making more and more tears form in her eyes. I tried to wipe a few away, but since the effort was hopeless – my thumb was literally drowned – I just held her.  
Totally exhausted, she fell asleep in my arms.  
I sighed as started to wipe the remaining tears away with my thumb.  
The door slowly opened and revealed Roxas. "Hey" He whispered.  
"Hey" I whispered back, not letting my eyes slip away from Kairi's face.  
"Axel's asleep and I think it's maybe time for you to go to sleep too now"  
"I can't. Kairi-"  
"I'll take her over for now"  
Hand her over to Roxas? No way.  
I looked up at Roxas and shook my head. "I'm fine. You look like you can use more sleep, bro"  
Roxas smiled. "You've got it bad"  
I cracked a smile. "Sheesh, man, did you figure that out on your own?"  
He chuckled and Kairi stirred, making me freeze up completely.  
"Sora… don't be stubborn and just hand her over. You need your sleep just as much as I do"  
I frowned and kept Kairi close to my chest. "No. She's mine"  
It just slipped out of my mouth and I felt a blush creep up. I had said too much.  
Roxas chuckled. "I'll just pretend I didn't hear that"  
Kairi stirred again and I was afraid she would wake up, and I could tell Roxas was even more scared than I was, because he quickly walked out the room and shut the door gently.  
But Kairi remained asleep and only tightened her grip on me.  
My arms tightened my grip in response.  
My cheek rested on her head once again and my eyes closed slowly.  
Three days of not sleeping were demanding sleep.

_Axel's Point Of View_

My dreams weren't comforting. They didn't make the worries go away.  
I knew Kairi would break someday, she did it way too frequently… but I didn't expect her to break now.  
And I never expected her to call herself a 'slutty whore'.  
There were two words in this world that Kairi never used.  
Slut and whore. She said you must be low to call someone that. With the only exception in the case if that person is lower than you.  
So when she said both words in the same sentence to herself, she had scared me more than all the bullshit she told herself earlier.  
Kairi had been silent the past three days.  
Awfully quiet.  
And especially with dinner tonight, she really didn't speak a word.  
So I decided to check on her, startled to see she was crying in bed.  
But she sat up, punishing herself for everything that happened.  
And then she had called herself a 'slutty whore'.  
She didn't say anything after that since I wasn't going to let her say more stuff.  
But when she finally fell asleep, she woke up a few minutes later, completely hysterical.  
I had called Roxas, in the hope he could help me out, but to make the disaster flow into a new disaster, Sora picked up the phone.  
I quickly told him to get Roxas, but I think he heard I was in panic, and he knew immediately that there was something wrong with Kairi.  
He was here in less than five minutes.  
When he told me to hand Kairi over to him, I had to admit I wasn't planning on giving my niece to Sora. But his eyes were constantly on her face, his face worried, but determined. His arms stretched out to her and waiting for my response.  
Kairi's tears were enough prove I couldn't stop her. That I wasn't strong enough to take care of her.  
She didn't give me a choice, so I had to hand her over.  
I woke up, tired as ever.  
Maybe I could take a look in Kairi's room, to check if it wasn't worse than earlier.  
I slowly walked to the guest room and slowly opened the door.  
The next moment, I wanted I had a photo camera with me.  
They sat on Kairi's bed, Kairi between Sora's legs, Sora's arms wrapped tightly around her.  
Her arms were wounded around his neck, her face buried in his shirt, his cheek rested on her head and they were both fast asleep.  
I decided to sit down in the chair in the corner and to wait for one of them to wake up.  
When I waited already twenty minutes, I nearly drifted off, but Sora kept me from doing so. He woke up and blinked a couple of times before yawning. He stretched himself out as much as possible with a strangling Kairi in your arms, but then he did something I never expected him to do.  
(Once, he told me he hated clingy girls. He wanted a girl who didn't cling on him the whole time.  
Kairi, let's be honest, _was _a clingy girl. She needed protection, however, if you asked if that was what she needed, she would deny it. Sora wanted a girl who could protect herself. He didn't want to be a knight all the time.)  
Instead of looking annoyed, he looked down at her, smiled at her while stroking her cheek with his thumb and kissed her lightly on her forehead.  
Maybe he was perfect for Kairi.  
Who knows.  
"I see you're awake" I stated.  
He looked up at me, his eyes wary. "Hey Axel"  
I smiled at him. "So you got her silent at least?"  
He grimaced. "I didn't do anything"  
No, no, Mr. Loverboy. If you didn't do anything, how come your hands are encircling her waist?  
I guess he noticed my skeptical look as he sighed. "I didn't do anything but holding her"  
I was about to fire another question at him, but again, he did something that made me silent and make me look in awe at them.  
He looked down at her again and his index finger trailed over her cheek. From the corner of her eye to her chin.  
I realized he followed the path the tears had made.  
"How did she get this way?" Sora asked, something like pain in his voice.  
If it hurt me she was broken, it definitely hurt him.  
He was brave enough to admit, though. He looked up and allowed me to look into his eyes. They were deeper than ever before and they were full of pain. Like her pain was his as well now.  
Yes. He cared for her. He loved her. He would do anything for her.  
Guess my little sister had grown a lot.  
I sighed. "Since… err…"  
Three days ago, I didn't behave myself like a big brother.  
"Since three days ago?" Sora added helpfully.  
I gave a quick nod. "Yeah… since then, she has been… awfully quiet… I thought she was still embarrassed about it, but how was I supposed she was balancing on the edge of breaking down?"  
My voice turned defensive at the end.  
Sora shook his head. "I never blamed you"  
No, that was usually true. Sora never blamed anybody. But there was a hard edge in his eyes which told me he _did_ blame me.  
Maybe Sora changed more for Kairi than I ever thought.  
And Kairi had changed for Sora.  
Of course I knew they weren't playing strip poker in the kitchen. Even a complete moron knew that.  
But I knew instinctively that Kairi had changed there. That she had told Sora how she felt. Not immediately how she felt about him, but more… talking about little things, telling him how she felt.  
Without music.  
Kairi had changed for Sora. Sora had changed for Kairi.  
Wasn't it obvious? Destiny wanted them together. I was the only one trying to fight against it.  
"This evening, she went to bed early. She said she was tired, but there was something in her eyes that told me she was lying…  
I had no idea, I repeat, I had _no _idea she was… that she was… going to chastise herself. Kairi always did that when she thought she did something wrong… even when it's not her fault that it's going wrong. You should've seen her when my father died and Kairi's father broke. She thought it was all her fault and it looked a bit like this…  
So, I decided to keep an eye on her and sneaked into her room, finding her crying in her pillow.  
I just watched when there came more and more tears. I thought it would be over soon… but instead… she showed me _how _she punished… chastised herself. Scary… I can tell you"  
I looked down. Sora's voice broke through the silence, calm and certain. "What did she say? Exactly?"  
Kairi would be mad at me for telling him. But if it could get the pain off my chest and what if it would be better for her?  
I gave in.  
"Let's see… Well, to be _exactly _she said: 'Let's set things straight and _right_, you get me?"  
Really, at the end of her sentence, she was so… so… _harsh _for herself… it was heartbreaking, I can tell you…"  
I sighed and went on. "She took a deep breath and sat up. I thought she heard me, but she just looked at her hands.  
She said: 'Okay. First. I hurt Axel'. You know, I don't really care about that. I was just being a bit overprotective. But suddendly she started to scold at herself"  
I didn't want to tell Sora what she said next.  
But Sora went on mercilessly. "What did she say?"  
I obeyed again, and I wanted to snap myself in two. "To be precisely: 'You unreliable bitch! Do you know HOW wrong that is? Remember what dad said? Never hurt Axel, he's all what's left if everything else falls away… I just fucked it up…' And then she started to sob again.  
It took her a while to go on again. 'Okay, so it's all right he hurt me in return…' she said. Of course not! There's nothing right about hurting her! But I just listened on.  
'Second. Axel knows something. Roxas knows it too now' she closed her eyes and there came more tears. I had no idea where she was talking about… but before I could think about it, she went on. 'So… Sora is going to know it too… and very soon… maybe he already knows' she said.  
She didn't seem to bother so much about that, because she sighed and said: 'Well, there's nothing I can do about that'  
But to me, it seemed like the worst thing for her was about to come now. Simply because the tears stopped and her eyes became so hard I was afraid she was frozen forever.  
Then she took a deep breath and said: 'Third… the most horrible thing ever… I hugged Sora' She let out a sharp breath and continued: 'And now he doesn't want to talk to me again…"  
And then, really, she scared the living shit out of me, she sobbed once and the tears came again. More and worse than ever before and she said…"  
I couldn't say it. I looked away.  
"What did she say?" His voice sounded a bit strangled, but I guess it was because Kairi strangled him.  
"She called herself a 'slutty whore'"  
I think he heard in my voice how worse that was.  
He was silent for a second. I looked up and I saw him looking at Kairi, his thumb stroking her cheek.  
But his voice came mercilessly again. "Go on"  
"She broke. She was crying so hard she started to shake and that's when I hugged her and tried to comfort her. I tried to shush her, but she didn't seem to listen… I really tried to make it clear she wasn't a slutty whore… and that she wasn't weak for leaving her father…"  
I shook my head, but I saw that Sora gave a slight nod.  
Angrily, I raised my gaze up to him. "If you think she's right, I'm going to knock you out of this house and run you over with your own car personally"  
He winced. "No, no, it's not that! Do you really, really think I agree with her about that?" He sounded angry too. "I just guessed she didn't like it to be the weak one… when she talked to me in the kitchen, I guessed a couple of things and this confirms one"  
"Oh"  
This changed things a bit. I had been right. Kairi had changed for Sora… but why did she break?  
"So, what else did she say?"  
"Well, she kept saying she was the most terrible person on earth and that she was horrible…"  
"Did she give you reasons?"  
"I asked her if hugging you made her the most terrible person on earth, but she said it was just part of it…" I sighed before murmuring: "I think it was the part which made her heart overflow"  
Sora didn't say anything, but I could feel his worry and anxiety in the air.  
He loved her.  
I went on, forcing myself to think about something else. "She said she was horrible because she left her father while he needed her the most and that she was supposed to take care of him… and I kept on telling her she wasn't horrible at all, and then she fell asleep"  
Kairi stirred. One of her hands slid from Sora's neck and rested on his chest now. PHOTO CAMERA, WHERE ARE YOU WHEN I NEED YOU THE MOST?  
He sighed with content and leaned back against the wall.  
"Err… and then she started crying in her sleep, woke up and started to cry harder. That's when I decided to call Roxas"  
"Why didn't you call me?"  
"Because I didn't want to tell you what happened" It came out immediately. I realized I had betrayed Kairi's inner feelings… or, not yet. But with Sora's attentive questions, I was going to betray her…  
"Why not?"  
"Because Kairi doesn't want you to know" I muttered.  
"And she wants Roxas to know?" He got me there. Kairi wanted that _nobody _knew.  
"To be precise, she doesn't want anybody to know… but I thought you wouldn't see this"  
True. If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to see this too.  
Now Kairi began to wake up. I knew it because she was crying again. Her eyes fluttered open and she made eye contact with Sora immediately.  
It was like chemistry sparked up between them.  
Sora touched the tender skin under her eye with his fingers. If fingers could drown, his fingers would've been dead.  
"Hey" He said gently.  
Kairi managed to blush in her breakdown. "H-hey" She stuttered between her tears.  
Sora smiled at her and took the opportunity to brush her tears away with his thumbs. "You know, you're still gorgeous, even if you're crying"  
I nearly choked. Really? Sora complimenting Kairi when she was broken as what? No way. Kairi would beat him to pulp and start crying again.  
But to my initial surprise, Kairi smiled at him. "Dude, you need serious help" She muttered while removing the rest of the tears with the back of her hand.  
I felt my jaw drop and my eyes widen.  
This whole situation was absurd.  
But Sora laughed. "I'm going to take serious help if you promise me to warn me before you decide it's okay to break down completely"  
She smiled back at him, not noticing the… awkward position they were in. "That's blackmailing, you know?"  
He smiled a tender smile down at her. "I love to blackmail you"  
He leaned down and pressed his lips on her forehead while whispering: "Now, don't ever scare me like that again, got that?"  
Kairi became red and stared at him, completely dazed. "Err…"  
He was serious now. "You know, when I saw you tonight, there was one second where I wanted to turn and run back to my house, putting the blanket over my head and act like nothing happened"  
She chuckled. "No wonder… it was worse than the last time I had something like this… but I promise you it won't happen again"  
Dude… _I_ need serious help.  
What's going _on_?  
How can they just talk about this so calmly while I had a heart-attack the whole evening, scared Kairi wouldn't make it through.  
'That's the power of love, dude', a voice said in the back of my head. 'And, by the way, you _do _need serious help'.  
Gee, thanks.  
But, at least, she made it through. 


	7. Time's Flying

_Heaven's Eyes_

_**Chapter Six  
**__**Time's Flying**_

_Kairi's Point Of View_

The following day was… strange. I walked down the stairs to get some medicine for Axel – he had a headache, he said – and I found Roxas sleeping and snoring on the couch. I stared at him for a few seconds and then walked over to the kitchen, where Sora was already. He said he'd take some coffee to keep him awake. He didn't notice me coming in and he was staring outside, a dreamily spark in his eyes. I didn't want to disturb him, so I remained silent.  
I had no idea why I let myself break down yesterday. I guess that's what happens if you take Sora away from me for three days…

But what if I went home again? He wouldn't be with me for God knows how long!  
I froze up and felt Sora's arm wrap around my waist immediately. He did notice I came in. "You okay?"

I nodded before looking up at him. "I promised you it wouldn't happen again" I said, while stretching my hand out to him while he leaned down into it. We stood there for a while, my hand on his cheek, his arm around my waist.  
"Ugh, man. I'll kill Axel for make me sleep on the couch, I swear. My hair is exploded" A grumbling Roxas came into the kitchen, making Sora and me jump up like we were being electrocuted.  
"Hey Roxas" I greeted him, trying not to think about the fact I had to leave Sora sooner or later.  
Sora hesitated before moving over to the corner of the kitchen. He folded his arms and his eyes were on me, following my every move.  
Roxas eyed me curiously. "Good to see you're okay again" He said happily before tackling me into a bear hug.  
"Ouch. Err… Roxas…? Can't breathe" I spluttered out.  
"Oops… sorry, Kai" He laughed before letting me go. I swallowed as much air as possible as soon as he let me go.  
I caught Sora's eyes and saw some kind of jealousy burning in them.  
I tilted my head to the side and stared into his blue eyes for what seemed forever.  
Jealousy faded and left tenderness.  
I smiled at him. Roxas yawned again. "Really, you guys should make a move so I can sleep again"  
We both froze up. He in the corner of the kitchen, me in the other one.  
"Whoa, what do you mean?" I stuttered. A undeniable blush crept up on my face.  
Sora averted his gaze to Roxas, glaring dangerously at him.  
Roxas, however, didn't notice. "You should get together and-"  
Sora whacked Roxas on the back of his head. "And that's enough, Strife" He said, a dangerous tone in his voice.  
This time, Roxas did notice. "Hey, man, that hurt" He mumbled when he rubbed over the spot Sora had whacked him.  
Sora just raised his brow. "Any commentary? Enlighten me, Roxas"  
I burst into laughter. "Dude, you need serious help" I said to Sora, already knowing what he would say. Though, it was still our secret joke, no matter how much we'd hear it a day.  
Sora smiled back at me. "I'm going to take serious help if you stop laughing at me"  
"You're such a blackmailer"  
He grinned. "Ah, well, that's my job" He looked at Roxas. "Right, Roxas?"  
He whacked Roxas again on his shoulder.  
"Ouch, man, you don't know your own powers!" He whimpered while rubbing over his sore shoulder.  
Sora shrugged once. "Nah. You're just-"  
Roxas looked up and sent him a death glare. "Dude, just don't finish that sentence"  
Sora's grin widened. But before he could open his mouth, I stood before him and pressed my hand against his mouth, to prevent he said something.  
"Hey, stop! I don't want to see a dead body in this kitchen and I definitely don't want to see a murderer in this kitchen!" I quickly said. I especially didn't want _Sora_'s dead body here.  
Roxas laughed. "Don't worry, Sora's hair will be just as spiky as it is now when he's dead, so you can still yank his hair out when he's dead"  
Sora burst into laughter too. I got goose bumps all over my body when I felt it against the palm of my hand.  
Sora gently removed my hand from his mouth and laughed harder. "Seriously, Roxas, you have to stop reading those crappy detectives!"  
Roxas smirked. "Whatever you say, sir"  
Axel interrupted us by entering the kitchen. His eyes immediately found mine.  
He smiled sadly, not noticing Sora and Roxas were staring at him. "Hey Kai"  
My big brother. Axel.  
Sure, Sora was more important, but Axel was still incredible important.  
"Hey Axel!" I said while running over to where he stood and hugging him.  
He wrapped his arms around me and tucked my head under his chin. "So, guess I didn't lose you totally, huh?"  
"Don't be ridiculous" I mumbled against his chest.  
"Who are you kidding, Kai? Big brother is watching you, you know" He chuckled.  
I rolled with my eyes, and remembered he couldn't see that. "I'm rolling my eyes at that, just so you know"  
Axel let me go and he whacked me on the back of my head. "Glad to see you're okay again"  
I held my arms defensively over my head. "Would you _please _stop hitting me for once?" I said, but I smiled at him.  
Axel threw his hands up in the air in defeat. "Fine. For today then"  
I sighed with relief and let my arms go. Axel gave me a push in my back. "Now, little slave, make breakfast"  
Roxas burst into laughter and when I walked past him, I whacked him against his head. "Slow it down, _Messy_" I smirked when he folded his arms. "Hey, don't call me 'Messy'! It's your fault my hair is messy like that!"

"You know, you sound just like a girl now" Axel threw his opinion in the battle.  
While they argued about Roxas being a girl or not, my eyes searched for Sora's.  
They found them very quickly and I just stared into the depths of the oceans.  
I wondered how long I could drown myself in them.  
And I nearly broke again. 

_Sora's Point Of View_

Three weeks.  
It seemed so long.  
And now, it was over.  
Kairi was going home.  
Three days left and I'll be alone again.  
What do I do? 

_Axel's Point Of View_

After Kairi's breakdown, things went back to normal.  
We visited Sora and Roxas or they visited us. We went to every beautiful spot in Twilight Town and we even got lucky because the sun started to shine. Like it knew Kairi hated the rain and it wanted to do her a pleasure.  
Roxas said Sora and Kairi would hook up soon after Kairi's breakdown. I told him Kairi was a tough one if it was about emotions. Even after showing her vulnerable side in her breakdown.  
It seemed like I was right.  
Nothing special happened. Stuttering and blushing were present, but more? No.  
However nothing happened, I saw them change.  
See, Sora got some way of following Kairi whenever she moved. If she frowned, he was always beside her, probably silently hinting he was there. If she folded her arms, he put his hands behind his head.  
If she walked, he kept up the same pace with her. It was like she was the center of his universe, his gravity.  
Kairi was the same. If Sora had a silent day, Kairi didn't speak either. If he moved, no matter how small the movement was, Kairi would move along. If he withdraw himself from us, Kairi went with him.  
One couldn't smile without the other smiling along.  
Kairi began to show us her heart while Sora turned back to the person he was before he went silent.  
I could tell Roxas was just as wary about them as I was.  
In the last week, we went to beach. Not the Destiny Islands, but some unnamed beach close to Twilight Town.  
Since Sora and Roxas are the only one with a car and the ability to drive, we decided to go together.  
I always sat in the back and I was actually expecting Kairi to sit beside me. I should've known better. Sora sat down in the driver's seat and stretched himself out waiting for my redheaded cousin. Kairi sat down beside him.  
Roxas sat down beside me.  
What surprised me the most, was that neither of them was blushing, neither there was an awkward silence.  
Their silence had a different taste. Trust, tenderness and love. However they didn't seem to know it.

Kairi was struggling against it and I bet Sora did some struggling too. To admit it. To admit he was never going to find a way back again.  
But, anyways, when they started driving, they suddendly started talking again, like they just went on with their conversation from before, not noticing we, Roxas and me, were listening as well.  
"So, you're leaving when?" Sora asked, a hint of… I don't know what in his voice. Kairi knew what it was. She frowned and she twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers.  
"Sunday"  
Sora was all tensed up. That was it. It seemed like he was ready to explode. His hand nearly crushed the clutch pedal. He took a deep breath and the knuckles in his hand became whiter when he clutched the pedal harder. "And when do you think you'll come back?"  
Kairi swallowed and bit down on her lip. "Maybe next year… if my father's doing fine"  
Sora grimaced, but quickly wiped every emotion off his face. Like he had learned before Kairi came.  
But Kairi didn't let him fool her. And suddendly something _did _happen. Kairi's hand suddendly rested on his.  
Oh boy… this must have taken a lot out of Kairi. Kairi was clingy, yes, but this was not something Kairi usually did.  
But what happened next nearly made my jaw drop. Sora relaxed completely. He intertwined his fingers with hers and sighed. "I'm sorry" He said, regretful.  
"Don't be. It's not your fault" Kairi told him immediately.  
Sora's eyes left the road for a second to look at Kairi. "Then whose fault is it?"  
Kairi chuckled, what resulted in a smile on Sora's face too. "I think Axel's. He invited me"  
Thanks, Kairi. Just blame it all on me.  
"So you say if you never came here, it would've been better"  
Kairi thought about that. "Hmm… maybe, maybe not. Actually, if I could do it all over… I would do it all the same"  
Sora smiled, so Kairi smiled as well. "Okay, minus my breakdown then"  
Sora gave Kairi a squeeze. "I'm sorry..." He tried again. "I just didn't expect it to be so soon"  
Kairi squeezed back. Sora smiled at her, receiving a smile back. "And I didn't expect I wouldn't see you for so long"  
Silence.  
Roxas opened his mouth, apparently to break the silence, but I whacked him against his head. "Shhh, just listen" I murmured.  
Roxas scratched his head and nodded once.  
They went on. Kairi started this time. "You remember the first week?"  
"Everything. What exactly are you referring to?"  
Another weird thing. They always knew where the other was talking about.  
"About our… err… physiologic talk?"  
Sora surprised us by laughing. "I do. Nice nickname for it, by the way"  
Kairi blushed. "Well, it's into that list, ain't it?"  
Sora still smiled. "I guess you're right. I'm still not allowed to know what you were thinking about?"  
She was silent. He gave her another squeeze. "Hey, I'm saying it once again: if you don't want to say it, you don't have to"  
She smiled at him. "I was thinking about a way to tell it without you crashing against the car in front of us"  
I wrapped my hand tightly around Roxas' mouth, to dim the sound of his laughter.  
Sora frowned. Kairi quickly gave him a squeeze back. "It's nothing worse, I promise, but if I would just say it, I'm sure you'll drive us into an accident or something"  
He waited.  
"I was thinking about leaving"  
Can Kairi predict or something?  
Sora nearly drove us into the car in front of us. I couldn't see his expression, but saw Kairi's grip tighten on him.  
"Or, I was thinking about leaving if that was the best for everyone"  
I could see his expression now. He was upset. He didn't say anything, but he managed somehow to keep Kairi talking.  
"Mind and heart, remember? My mind yelled at me I should leave…"  
"And your heart?" Sora finally asked. He sounded less upset than when I saw his face in the rear-view mirror.  
"My heart… err… demanded to stay"  
Sora wasn't satisfied and if I was him, I shouldn't be either. She had made a weird hesitation in the middle of her sentence.  
"You said you didn't listen to any of them" He brought up quietly.  
Kairi frowned and took a couple of deep breaths. "If I had listened to my heart… well, let's say in the worst case you would've been kissed or something"  
O. My. God. Kairi saying what her heart wanted out loud? That's a first for me.  
Sora looked surprised for a second, but suddendly burst into laughter. "Dude, you need serious help" He managed to say between his laughter.  
Kairi laughed as well. "I'll take serious help if you stop laughing at me, Mr. Strife"  
"You're such a blackmailer, Hikari" He teased her back.  
That little conversation came back from time to time. It was their… teasing moment or something. Roxas thought it was cute. I thought it wasn't nice to use _my_ phrases.  
"But, seriously, I wouldn't mind being kissed by you" Sora started after a few seconds.  
I shot Roxas a glance. He frowned as well. This conversation was heading in a very dangerous direction.  
Kairi chuckled. "Aw… were you so depressive you would have wanted to be kissed by me?"  
Roxas and me shared a alarmed glance. So Sora actually told Kairi about what he went through? He never told any of us.  
Sora smiled back at her. "Guess you'll never know"  
"That's not nice, _Spiky_" She teased him.  
He just laughed in return. "I never said I was nice, _Red_"  
His blue eyes suddendly shot to his rear-view mirror, straight in our stunned eyes.  
"Wow, you know, you guys are looking…"  
Kairi turned in her seat, never breaking her grip on Sora's hand. "Alarmed?"  
Sora chuckled while adding: "Kind of stunned too… what happened?"  
Trust Roxas to say something in these situations.  
"Y-you… wh-what… what is going _on_?"  
Too bad he never says something meaningful in these situations.  
So, then I always have to say something.  
"Your conversations are just… _crappy_"  
Roxas nodded like an idiot, showing them he agreed whatever I said. Sometimes, he just another sore loser.  
They just looked at us and then at each other before they burst out into laughter.  
"Like _you_ can say something meaningful in _your _conversations" 


	8. Leaving

_Heaven's Eyes_

_**Chapter Seven  
**__**Leaving**_

_Sora's Point Of View_  
It was Friday morning.  
Two days before Kairi left.  
I sighed and turned in my bed.  
Roxas was up already, but I felt too depressive to even move my limp body.  
Kairi knew I felt bad about the fact she was going to leave. She felt bad about it too.  
So she would know why I hadn't showed up yet.  
Maybe it wasn't that worse if I didn't see her before she left.  
Maybe I could let her go.  
Roxas' voice drifted upstairs. "Well… if he didn't breathe, I would say he's dead. I don't spill my energy with waking him up, but if you want to, go ahead"  
The door opened slowly and someone was walking closer.  
I narrowed my eyes in my pillow – it's hard, but possible – . If it was Axel, I was going to throw my pillow at him. Maybe a chair didn't hurt so much…  
But a slim, fragile, soft and cold hand rested on my cheek. "Hey, Sora… wake up"  
Damn it. This wasn't fair.  
Axel. You're dead, pal.  
He knew I was head over heels for Kairi and he was using it to make me do whatever he wanted.  
But I couldn't resist and turned my head toward Kairi's voice.  
"Hey"  
She smiled. "You know, you're looking too good for a dead body, so my conclusion is that you're still alive"  
"Joy" I muttered while turning my face in the pillow again.  
The door closed and I looked up to see if she really left like that.  
Kairi chuckled. She was still in the room, so it was safe enough to bury my face back in my pillow.  
"Hey, make some room, will you?"  
I raised my head again, shocked. "Wha-?"  
Her shoes laid on the floor and she waited. "Well?"  
I quickly made some space for her and she jumped into my bed, covering us both with my blankets.  
"You know, your bed is pretty small"  
I buried my face once again in my pillow. "Thanks for complimenting my gorgeous bed"  
She chuckled. "You know, it's kind of rude to avoid me when I'm almost leaving"  
I shot up immediately. "You were leaving Sunday!" I said, my voice raising and my eyes wide.  
Her fingers rested on my lips. "Shhh, I know I'm leaving Sunday. But it's just two days, so I see that as 'almost'"  
I calmed down, partly because of her fingers on my lips. It was not fair, the way she ruled me. But, I was thrilled by it either way, so I'm not complaining.  
"So, decided what you're going to do, your last two days in rainy Twilight Town?" I asked her casually.  
She smiled. "Yup. Plans are made and I already packed, so I have all the time in the world"  
"Why are you wasting it here than?" I wondered out loud.  
Her gaze suddendly turned wary. Her fingers left my lips and slid down against my neck. Her other arm came up and she suddendly wrapped both arms around my neck and she pressed herself close against me. Again, I couldn't react because of the stunned feeling. I was quicker now, though. My arms wrapped around her waist and I pressed her close to me.  
Natural. Just as natural as it is to be born and to die someday, having Kairi in my arms felt the same way. She belonged there.  
"I'm going to spend those two days with you" She murmured against my chest.

_Kairi's Point Of View_  
Sunday, 5:30 AM.  
This was going to be hard.  
I decided to spend the last two days with Sora and I didn't regret it.  
But it sure made it harder to leave.  
Axel was going with me. Sora was going with me. If Roxas was conscious, he was coming along too.  
I took a deep breath while taking my bag from the floor. Come on, Kairi, you can do this!  
"Kairi? You ready?"  
I didn't reply, just stared out the window. It was raining again.  
It had rained when I came here, and met Sora. It had also rained when we went to the clock tower. The raindrops were like pure crystal pearls in his hair. They even stuck to his eyelashes…  
Gorgeous, sweet, caring Sora. I love you.  
Axel opened the door, but I didn't turn. "Kairi?"  
"Axel…"  
"Yes?"  
"I need to tell you something"  
"Kairi?" He sounded concerned.  
I turned around to face him. Concern glowed on his face.  
"I… I…"  
I had told Sora I had troubles with expressing myself. Sora was surprised, but he told me he was changed because of his depression. He had learned to control his emotions and said it was simple to express yourself once you knew a little trick.  
He told me to relax, think about what I felt and how it felt. Then, slowly, tell myself in words how I felt. Once I had done that, I could say it.  
I had practiced.  
But to say it to someone, that was a different story.  
Relax… What do you feel?  
Love. Love for the boy a couple of houses further. Love for Sora.  
How did it feel?  
Like I was drifting on a cloud, like the world depended on him. Like I was high and you gave me the only thing I really wanted.  
Words for how I felt?  
I love him. I love Sora. Sora, I love you.  
I took a deep breath and looked into Axel's green eyes. "I'm in love with Sora"  
He didn't seem surprised. He seemed surprised about the fact I spoke it out loud.  
"That took you a while" He finally said.  
Thanks Axel. But I was glad he took it so easily.  
"I knew it from the first day I met him"  
"How much do you love him?" He asked it casually, still looking in my eyes.  
"Heh… you know I never believed in true love, right?"  
"Yeah"  
"Well… I found out Sora is my true love"  
He suddenly grinned. "I knew it"  
So I finally found out what Axel knew.  
"Does… does Sora know?" Damn. I wanted to tell him myself. If I was able to say it.  
"No. He said he thinks you're at least slightly attracted to him, but he doesn't know he is your true love"  
I could tell he was indeed slightly attracted to me as well.  
"Well… I'm ready. Ready to go and ready to tell" I suddendly said.  
It was off my chest and I was determined. I was going to tell Sora.  
If he didn't love me, I was gone and I could try to forget him.  
If he loved me… well, then there was at least one good thing about leaving. Knowing I would see him… soon.  
I would come every time I could if that's what it would take to see him frequently.  
Axel followed me and locked the door of the house.  
My bag was heavier than before. Axel said he put a present in it, but I had no idea what it was… only that it was pretty heavy.  
When I looked up, Sora and Roxas leaned against their car. Roxas seemed half-asleep, but Sora was looking… very awake.  
And very sad.  
After the greetings we silently got into the car. I just took the front seat beside Sora. It felt better.  
Silence.  
Sora was tense again. I took his hand and it seemed to help, for my own tenseness as well.  
Axel started to murmur things in Roxas' ear and Roxas murmured things back.  
"Err, what are you doing?" Sora said, suspicion clear in his voice.  
They shook their heads at the same time. "Nothing" They said in union.  
I turned to look at them and tilted my head to the side.  
Axel smiled at me and winked while Roxas gave me thumbs up.  
I swallowed. Oh God.  
Long ago, I bit my nails. I know, it's gross and I haven't done it for a long time…  
But I was so nervous I nearly started again.  
Silence fell over us for the rest of the way.  
We arrived at the station at 6:52 AM.  
Eight minutes to tell Sora.  
We walked toward the station and to my platform.  
I gave Roxas a hug. "Bye Roxas. It was really nice to meet you"  
He hugged me back. "Sure! It was also very nice to meet you too" He leaned down until his lips were at my ear. "Good luck telling Sora"  
I swallowed hard and he chuckled. "He's looking pretty jealous now, so I'll let you go now, okay?"  
Six minutes to tell Sora.  
I let Roxas go and went on to Axel. He hugged me back immediately and laughed. "Don't say anything. I know you had a great time and you can't wait to see me again. I love you too, Kairi"  
I laughed and let him go.  
Five minutes to tell Sora.  
I didn't waste my time and ran over to him and nearly tackled him. His arms wrapped tightly around my waist.  
I heard footsteps fading away and was happy with my big brother cousin. He knew I wanted privacy. And Roxas left us alone too.  
Four minutes.  
"Sora…" I buried my face in his neck and tightened my grip on him, noticing he did the same.  
"Kairi…" He murmured in my ear.  
I had to do it, and I had to do it now! What would I lose?  
Three minutes to tell him.  
"I love you" I gasped. I closed my eyes and tensed up, waiting for his response.  
I felt him tremble under me. "Always loved you, always will" He whispered.  
He loved me too…  
And now it was unthinkable I would leave.  
I relaxed and just held him.  
Two minutes.  
He suddendly pulled away and took my face in his hands. His blue eyes were melting and electrocuting me. He pulled me closer and pressed his lips onto mine. It took me one second to recover while I let myself drown into his intoxicating touch. Then, I put my own intensity back into the kiss.  
One minute.  
My hands shot in his already wild hair and pulled him closer. If I was going to let myself rip apart at home, I could better take everything I could.  
His hands jerked me closer toward him, never breaking the kiss.  
The train arrived.  
I couldn't let him go yet, and tasting the desperation on his lips, he couldn't let go either.  
He pulled back, but gave me a quick kiss. And another one, and another.  
I would have five minutes to get into the train. Counting again.  
"Don't go" He hissed in my neck, still trying to catch his breath.  
I gently removed my hands from his hair and wounded my arms around his shoulders.  
"Call me. Mail me. Whatever you want, but please" I begged.  
One of his hands pressed my head closer in his touch. "Every day" He promised.  
Four minutes.  
"I'll come every time I can" I promised back. Father would be okay.  
"And I'll come every holiday" I felt him smile. "Maybe you can show me what that strange, yellow thing in the sky is"  
Three minutes.  
"Don't get depressive while I'm gone" I murmured in his neck.  
"Don't break when you're at home" He murmured back.  
Two minutes.  
I suddendly got an idea. One of my hands shot into my pocket and took out my lucky charm. I made it once when I was five years old.  
I pulled back a bit and took his hand, to lay my lucky charm in it.  
"Take this, it's my lucky charm"  
He looked up from it, to my eyes. His eyes widened. "No way, it's your luck, not mine"  
I shook my head. "Sora. Listen. I didn't believe in true love until I met you. My world doesn't exist anymore. I live in yours, just as long as you let me live there. My luck is yours, just like my heart"  
One minute.  
I kissed him for the last time and jumped into the train. He followed me on the platform and I opened the window to still speak at him.  
He took my hand and he looked incredibly sad. "You know, I feel the same about you. You're the only thing I got right, the only certain thing in my life" He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm not letting go of that" He said, determined.  
The train moved with a shock. It broke our connection and I fell backwards.  
I quickly got up and leaned out the window to look at him.  
"Sora!"  
Sora walked along with the slowly driving train. "Kairi!"  
The train was getting faster and Sora started running.  
"I love you!" I felt tears form in my eyes.  
"I love you too!"  
The train got faster and faster.  
"Kairi, I call you!" He yelled when he got behind.  
"I love you!" I yelled back.  
Through my blurry sight, I could still see his spikes.  
I closed the window when he was totally out of sight and let myself fall back on the seat.  
"Well, missy, that was quite romantic" The friendly conductor said.  
I sniffed and wiped the tears away. "You think so?" I asked quietly.  
The woman who sat across me nodded like crazy. "Indeed, young lady! It was just like Titanic!" She said enthusiastically.  
I crinkled my nose. The main male actor died there.  
"Except from the 'everybody dies' part" The conductor added quickly.  
I dived into my bag, searching for my ticket.  
My hand landed on 'Axel's present'. It was a photo-list with a photograph in it.  
I shivered when I recognized it. It was me and Sora, both asleep.  
It was the night of my breakdown. We sat on my bed, I sat between Sora's legs, his arms tightly wrapped around me while mine were wounded around his neck, my face buried in his shirt and his cheek rested on my head. A blush crept up on my face. There was a note attached to it.

'_Dear Kairi,  
I have some feeling you wanted a picture to drool over – JOKING! – but I know you would want something to remember him.  
Roxas took the picture since I had no idea where the camera was and he was earlier than me.  
Good trip home and say hi to your father!  
All the best,  
Axel_'

The tears were back again. I looked back at the picture.  
You couldn't see much from my face, but what you saw wasn't pleasant. My face was red and puffy and tender from all the tears.  
Sora's face was perfect like always, except from the small frown on his face.  
Under the note was my ticket. I quickly took it from the note and handed it to the conductor.  
"All right missy! I have a feeling I'm going to see you more often"  
I sniffed again and took the ticket back. "You know, I think you're right, sir" 


	9. Being On Your Own Again

_Heaven's Eyes_

_**Chapter Eight  
**__**Being On Your Own Again**_

_Sora's Point Of View_

Gone.  
I thought there was a chance I could handle it.  
No way.  
Her voice was slipping away the more I tried to remember it.  
I sunk through my knees and wanted to let myself drown in the emptiness she left behind.  
Without Kairi, I was nothing. A puppet. A broken shell.  
But I promised her to keep the depression away. She promised me she wouldn't break down.  
I couldn't fall back into my depression.  
She loved me.  
And I loved her back.  
This was going to be a hard love, but I was sure we could make it through together.  
"Sora?"  
It was raining again.  
I sighed.  
"Sora" My brother's hand rested on my shoulder.  
I stood up and looked at him.  
"What did she say?"  
Axel stood behind Roxas and he grinned. "What do you think she said? Kairi was absolutely determined about telling Sora"  
Roxas gave a soft chuckle. "And Sora was determined to let her go without trying to lock her up in our bathroom"  
I chuckled as well. Now she was gone, it seemed stupid I hadn't tried that.  
Kairi, locked up in my bathroom. She would never leave.  
I took a deep breath and let it out in a deep sigh.  
Roxas wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "How do you feel?"  
"Empty"  
Axel shook his head. "You'll get over it"  
I shot him a death glare.  
He quickly threw his hands in the air. "No, no, I don't mean you'll get over _her_, but over the empty feeling"  
"How do you reckon?" I asked him, my voice soft and low.  
"Because Kairi will stalk you like hell" He grinned widely.  
With that being said, I began pushing the two to the car, threw them inside and started the car. 

_Roxas's Point Of View_  
So.  
I'm Roxas Strife.  
I'm Sora's brother.  
Sora's _twin _brother.  
I'm seventeen.  
I'm utterly stupid – most of the time – .  
But, hey, you know, I care about my brother.  
I care about my family.  
Axel is part of my family.  
Just because he's always there for us, however he can be stupid too.  
Kairi? My sister.  
Because?  
Sora is utterly, absolutely, completely, undeniable and freaking much in love with her and she's just… great.  
I expected the worst when I saw Sora, sitting on the floor, staring at his hands.  
I expected he would return to his depression.  
However, he didn't.  
But now, racing like a maniac to get home, his expression is only… hopeful.  
Man… I do love Kairi, but if she didn't sent him an e-mail or a call, I'm killing her.  
Finally home, Sora kicked us out the car, locked the car, ran to the door, opened the door, kicked us inside, slammed the door shut, ran upstairs and we never saw him again.  
I looked at Axel.  
"Coffee, perhaps?" 

_Axel's Point Of View_

Weeks went on, time went on.  
Sora never forgot Kairi for once. They were calling every evening, they mailed whenever they could.  
In other words, Sora and the laptop were inseparable.  
But Kairi´s father was ill, so Kairi never got the chance to get back here. And Sora… Sora wasn´t allowed to go there.  
Poor guys.  
Tonight was Christmas Eve.  
But it was still morning.  
I laid on the couch with Roxas, watching a crappy movie. I even forgot the name…  
Sora walked in, laptop under his right arm, phone pressed to his ear with his left shoulder and a frown on his face.  
"-Think you'll manage?"  
Someone said something unclear and Sora sighed. "Yeah, think so"  
It wasn't Kairi. If it was Kairi, Sora's voice changed completely. It became warmer, lower… anyway.  
"I've got to do something, so I'm hanging up on you, 'kay?"  
He smiled. "S'okay, I got that covered! Bye, Xion"  
Sora hung up and stretched himself out. "Good morning, guys"  
Roxas sat up and shot him a glance. "What did she want?"  
Sora's eyes were dull. "What do you mean, what did she want?" Ooooh, someone was having a bad mood today! Guess he was kind of down about the fact Kairi wouldn't be here tonight…  
I prepared for some kind of epic battle by hiding behind the couch (All my money on Sora… by the way) and waited. "Dude, she's a friend of mine too. Can't I ask what she wanted?" Roxas said, getting a bit fed up with Sora as well now.  
Sora sighed. "Xion is the girlfriend of Vanitas, right? They had a fight last night. She asked me to talk to Vanitas while she went off to buy something for him"  
Vanitas was a very good friend of us. He lived on the Destiny Islands a couple of years ago… so I guess Kairi knew him as well.  
Roxas shrugged. "Then it's okay"  
Sora raised his brow and wanted to say something, but the phone rang. I jumped back to my spot on the couch. "Saved by the bell, little miss Sunshine"  
Roxas started banging on my head with a pillow, but I still watched Sora.  
"Sora Strife"  
Suddendly his face lit up. "Kairi!"  
I whacked Roxas on his head and told him to shut up. I wanted to listen.  
"How is you- Oh… so he's doing better now?"  
He smiled. "Yeah, Axel's here as well. We're gonna celebrate together… although I'm really gonna miss you…"  
Roxas and I shared a glance. We bloody knew how he missed her. He talked in his sleep during the weeks she was gone.  
"I'm not sure… every half hour? Yeah, I thought something like that… why-?"  
He frowned and put down the laptop. "I can ask Axel, if you want?"  
She said something and he looked at me. "Axel, do you know when the trains are leaving from Destiny Islands?"  
"Is she coming?"  
He shook his head sadly. "Nah, but she needs to know in case she's coming next week"  
"Every half hour, like you said" I replied, and stared at Roxas. "Bitch, you just stole my ice-cream!"  
Roxas had a spoon filled with _my _delicious sea-salt ice-cream in his mouth. "Dude, I had one too!"  
Sora looked at us and pressed his free hand over his other ear. "No, Axel and Roxas are fighting over ice-cream" He rolled with his eyes. "Exactly. I guess they never grew up after all"  
"What's the fun of that?" Roxas stated while whirling his spoon in the air, and within seconds, my whole face and hair were covered with ice-cream.  
"Dude... You. Just. Did. Not. Do. That"  
Roxas started to freak out. "Oops"

_Kairi's Point Of View_

I told Sora I was coming next week, but actually, I decided to come today.  
My father hadn't been happy about that. But when I told him it was Christmas Eve and that I really wanted to see Axel too –I'm a good liar when I need to be – and then I got his permission to go in the weekend.  
But… because I wanted to keep it a secret until I got there… I had to walk.  
Which would take pretty long.  
"Tickets please?" The conductor stood in the doorway and everyone started to search for his or her ticket.  
"Oh, why, hello there, missy!" I looked up with my ticket in my hand and stared at the conductor. It was the same one I'd seen when I left. I smiled a bit shyly at him while handing him my ticket. "Back again?" I simply nodded.  
Wait… Sora's car was Roxas's as well… wasn't it?  
Some memory came back to me, when Sora had one of his silent days and when we were alone.

_Sora stared in the distance, laying flatly on his stomach, his chin rested upon his arms.  
I sat beside him, playing with his hair. It was strange, the way his hair would always return back to its original position.  
"How many gel do you put into your hair to create this?" I said, trying to lighten up a bit.  
It worked. He turned to me and raised his brow. "Would you believe me if I said I don't do anything special with it?"  
I laughed and ruffled his hair. "I do, but it's still fascinating…"  
He groaned and suddendly wrapped his arms around me, and laid me down on the floor beside his bed. Then he rolled over so he faced me. He touched my forehead with his finger. "What happens there, now that's fascinating"  
I chuckled. "Or crazy"  
He smiled, for the first time today and I felt a warm, bubbly feeling spreading through my body. I smiled back.  
He suddendly sighed and leaned back, so he rested his back against the wall. I got up and sat down next to him. "I think it's pretty impressive of you to have a car already…" I started up a conversation.  
Sora looked at me and a smirk lit up his face. "It's not _my _car, you know…"  
"Not your car? Roxas's car, then?"  
Sora folded his hands behind his head. "We share the car… but I drive, because I think Roxas would kill the car"  
"At least he kills something…" I said, resting my back against his shoulder. His arm wrapped lightly around my shoulder. "I mean… he couldn't even kill that freaking spider!"  
Sora burst into laughter. "Dude, you need serious help"  
"I will take serious help if you stop laughing at me, Spiderman"_

I smiled. It would be a surprise for Sora… all I needed to do was to get Roxas into the car.  
The conductor smiled at me. "That's right, no need to be sad! I'm sure your boyfriend will be waiting there at the station!"  
He wouldn't… but that was my fault.  
"Thanks, sir" I said, waiting until the conductor moved on. Then, I took out my cellphone and rang Roxas's number. "C'mon, lazy bum… pick up your freaking phone…"


End file.
